Rafa Benitez has claimed Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wanted to keep Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang until his position at the club became untenantable.
- Auba and Arsenal parted ways in January
- Arsenal have flourished without Auba
- Benitez alleges Arteta was keen to keep him
WHAT HAPPENED: The Gabonese striker and the Arsenal manager fell out after what the latter described as a breach of discipline. The now Chelsea star and the Gunners opted to end their association mutually with the attacker leaving for Barcelona in the January transfer window.
The Blues came for his services last summer and the 33-year-old did not hesitate to join them and make a return to the Premier League. The ex-Liverpool boss has now claimed the Spanish tactician had wanted to continue working with the player.
WHAT HE SAID: “I will tell you something, because I know something a little bit from inside. I think he was trying to support [Aubameyang], as much as he could. hen after he couldn’t, so he had to make a decision and that’s it,” Benitez told Premier League production as quoted by HITC.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Aubameyang scored 11 goals in 17 La Liga matches for Barcelona. However, the signing of Robert Lewandowski meant Aubameyang dropped down in the pecking order.
Aubameyang has since scored three goals in six matches across all competitions for Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are flying high and are top of the table with 27 points after winning nine of their 10 Premier League matches.
WHAT NEXT: Aubameyang is expected to feature when Chelsea play Brentford on Wednesday in the Premier League while Arsenal host PSV a day later in the Europa League.
Source: Goal