Further insight into the reasoning behind Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s benching for this evening’s showdown with Tottenham has been forthcoming online.
Derby matchup
The marquee fixture of the Premier League weekend is of course currently playing out at the Emirates.
The clash in question sees rivalries renewed, as Arsenal and Spurs go head-to-head in the latest edition of the North London Derby.
The matchup marks an altogether more important one for the visitors, with Jose Mourinho’s men of course in the thick of the race for European football.
Arteta’s Gunners, on the other hand, sat in mid-table ahead of kick-off, with a route into next season’s Champions League being eyed via Europa League glory.
Early in proceedings in the capital, though, it is nevertheless Arsenal who have looked much the better of the two sides, with Emile Smith Rowe’s rasping drive from distance having come within inches of handing the home side the lead:
Inches away…
Emile Smith Rowe rattles the bar for Arsenal
📺 Watch on Sky Sports PL
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📲 Download the @SkySports app! pic.twitter.com/me3kubaj4L— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 14, 2021
Auba punished
The early threat posed by Arteta’s men of course comes despite an alarming piece of personnel news having come to the fore ahead of the action getting underway at the Emirates.
This came in the form of confirmation that captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been dropped to the bench by Mikel Arteta, with Alexandre Lacazette introduced in his place.
When drawn on his decision during a pre-match interview, the Arsenal boss was unsurprisingly keen to keep his cards close to his chest regarding the situation, simply citing ‘disciplinary reasons’:
Arteta says he’s dropped Aubameyang for disciplinary reasons. Wouldn’t elaborate.
— Patrick Davison (@skysports_PatD) March 14, 2021
As outlined above, though, further insight into the matter has since been forthcoming online.
The information comes courtesy of the reliable David Ornstein of The Athletic, who has revealed that ‘Auba’ turned up late for duty in north London this afternoon.
This is reportedly ‘not the first time’ the Gabonese has been guilty of such an offence, with Arteta having evidently been keen to make an example of his captain:
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang dropped to bench for Arsenal’s visit of Tottenham after captain reported late when squad met up earlier today. Believed not to be the first time & falls out of line with club’s matchday protocols @TheAthleticUK #ARSTOT #AFC https://t.co/qQoMpNPF4w
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) March 14, 2021
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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Premier League table
# | Team | MP | D | P |
1 | Manchester City FC | 30 | 43 | 71 |
2 | Leicester City FC | 29 | 21 | 56 |
3 | Manchester United FC | 28 | 23 | 54 |
4 | Chelsea FC | 29 | 19 | 51 |
5 | West Ham United FC | 27 | 11 | 48 |
6 | Everton FC | 28 | 3 | 46 |
7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 27 | 18 | 45 |
8 | Liverpool FC | 28 | 11 | 43 |
9 | Aston Villa FC | 27 | 11 | 41 |
10 | Arsenal FC | 27 | 7 | 38 |
11 | Crystal Palace FC | 29 | -16 | 37 |
12 | Leeds United | 28 | -3 | 36 |
13 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 28 | -9 | 35 |
14 | Southampton FC | 29 | -15 | 33 |
15 | Burnley FC | 29 | -15 | 33 |
16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 28 | -7 | 29 |
17 | Newcastle United FC | 28 | -17 | 28 |
18 | Fulham FC | 29 | -14 | 26 |
19 | West Bromwich Albion | 29 | -37 | 18 |
20 | Sheffield United FC | 29 | -34 | 14 |
Player | Team | Goals |
---|---|---|
Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 16 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 10 |
Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
---|---|---|---|
Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 8 |
Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 7 |
Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
Tielemans, Youri | Leicester City FC | 0 | 6 |
Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
Westwood, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 6 |
Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
Player | Team | Assists |
---|---|---|
Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
Foden, Phil | Manchester City FC | 5 |
Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 5 |
Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
Source: 101greatgoals.com