Tam wrote:
It’s more than clear he wasn’t living up to the standards many of us expect of not only our players, but our captain. I get that he’s had more leeway with previous managers and in different teams, but there’s a crucial difference in context in that he is one of the few senior players we would be expecting to guide a very young squad. He can’t be acting how he did when he should’ve been one of the model professionals in the squad. There’s an argument to say he shouldn’t have been captain, but he was, and there are expectations of that role.
That's fair enough, I do agree he wasn't a good captain and I also agree that he should have been more of a role model in regards to professionalism for the younger lads in the squad. It's just that everyone in football knows what kind of guy Auba is, everyone at Arsenal knew, and I find it hard to blame him for not changing his personality just because he was given the captain's armband. You can criticise him for not living up to that responsibility, and that's fair, personally I think it was very optimistic to expect that from him in the first place.
And honestly, I think you'll find plenty of people gave Aubameyang stick for not performing well last year, I myself was pissed at quite a few of his outings. I just personally don't think it's a big deal if he was late for training all the time and not a consummate professional in every way. I don't expect that from Arsenal players, and I'm most likely in the minority with that. As long as they don't harm anyone, I couldn't care less what they do off the pitch or even in training, as long as they perform up to the standards of their talent. When I felt that Aubameyang didn't, I criticised him for that. I have a soft spot for guys like Auba whose first priority is enjoying life and having fun, but I absolutely get it if people don't agree with that and I don't even blame Arteta for not liking it. I blame him for not getting a replacement in though, or being too stubborn to indulge Auba for another 6 months, could have just put him on the bench for a month or two, I do think having him around during the business end of the season could have made a difference to our league position.
And I do take a bit of an issue that lots of "other issues" with him keep getting brought up when no one has ever specifically named any. It's fine if you think he's unprofessional for having been late all the time and that he needed to go for it. It's fine if you think his personality wasn't the right fit for the team at the time. I just don't think it's fair to bring up any alleged other misbehaviour without there being any proof for it whenever Auba is discussed. Guy has done a lot for Arsenal in his short career after all and I think he should only be judged on what we know.
Edit: Most of that is similar to what I would reply to you Ricky, let me just say, I think it's great you're feeling so good about the club, I wish I could say the same, and I don't want to spoil that or anything. It's just that I see it differently. I don't feel good about Arteta and I don't feel good about the way we have handled different personalities over the last few years, while Auba has been one of my favourite things about the club in recent years in contrast. So I'm inclined to stick up for him, a guy I feel good about in spite of his unprofessionalism, over Arteta and the club in general, who have disappointed me especially off the pitch and especially recently.
I might change my mind if I ever get around to watching the documentary, but I doubt it. Edu, Vinai, Arteta and all of them were aware of the cameras around them, they knew exactly what was going to be aired and how they wanted to come across. Unless they name anything concrete at some point, I'm just not inclined to believe a bunch of PR pros with cameras on them, who have a clear agenda in this case. I wouldn't believe Auba either if he made some vague implications in a series about him.
