In a move that has sparked a lot of debate, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been stripped of the Arsenal captaincy following the latest controversy surrounding him.
As per earlier reports, the Gabonese striker returned late from a sanctioned trip abroad despite the current travel restrictions and was not considered for the Southampton clash.
His future at the club is now in doubt as he will also not be considered for their match against West Ham United.
All of the Gunners fanbase have gone into a frenzy and they have taken to social media to express varying opinions on the issue.
Coincidentally or not, Arsenal captains down the years have suffered something of an attitude issue, with Granit Xhaka also stripped off the armband two years ago after a controversial issue of his own that saw him boo his own fans.
Aubameyang is the latest to suffer this fate and it now remains to be seen what becomes of this saga.
The 32-year-old former Saint-Etienne forward still has 18 months left on his £250,000-a-week contract.
He will be joining the Gabon national team later in December to begin preparations for the Afcon finals in January 2022, which will come as a much-needed break from the issues surrounding him at club level.
Here are the best reaction to the latest events from the Emirates Stadium.
Next phase is for all the negative Auba stories to start dropping one by one. How he killed a goat in the dressing room. How he carried olosho the night before a game we lost to City 100-0. Etc.— Ugo (@Sir_Fin) December 14, 2021
Ozil and Auba should have left without signing extensions. The Edu and Flamini that left Arsenal on free transfers for more money are favored by the club and fans today but Auba and Ozil have become villains.. Hindsight shows that Ashley Cole treated Arsenal the right way.— Gene Grey (@EuginhoCortez) December 14, 2021
Captain’s armband or no Captain’s armband, you are still a King 👑 @Auba ❤️•#aubameyang #auba #arsenal pic.twitter.com/YpAZzoH0ZM— Dr. Kelechi Anyikude (@KelechiAFC) December 14, 2021
Arteta has stripped Aubameyang off his captaincy 😂😂Unless what the Athletic reported yesterday about Auba visiting his mum is not true, this is a disgraceful act from Arteta. From Ozil to Aubameyang smh— KELEWELE JOINT 🍟 (@ANKAMAGYIMI__) December 14, 2021
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should have been stripped of the Arsenal captaincy the day he liked Cristiano Ronaldo's instagram post after we lost at Old Trafford.— WelBeast (@WelBeast) December 14, 2021
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It's all part of the journey. @Auba keep your head up, it will be well. #Aubameyang pic.twitter.com/fqmTvYLsl1— Hesborn Etyang (@ItsEtyang) December 14, 2021
Arteta strips off Aubameyang as the captain of the club. This guy will destroy the club. Na only them dey discipline players? Na wa— POOJA... (@PoojaMedia) December 14, 2021
Arteta is a bully. Me, I like to laugh at Auba but what’s happened is ridiculous esp the way the news first dropped. I don’t even think he did much wrong— big barda (@CasaDupre) December 14, 2021
This same club that hasn't played Champions League football since before Mbappe became a thing, has our fans turning on guys like Henry, Özil, Koscielny, Alexis, and now Aubameyang.— Dezildez (@Dezildezzz) December 13, 2021
Granit Xhaka when the Arsenal board ask him to be captain once again😭 pic.twitter.com/NRA6W4HFg3— Daniel ‘Bamiji’ (@DanielBamiji_) December 14, 2021
Arsenal haven’t had a proper captain since Patrick Vieira. pic.twitter.com/EYKWMIHR7z— ✨👑 DaddyMO👑✨🏁 (@therealdaddymo1) December 14, 2021
Arsenal dropping another retro collection after what happened to Aubameyang pic.twitter.com/r8oHpTiisq— . (@Nigerianscamsss) December 14, 2021
Aubameyang has been stripped of the Arsenal captaincy and will not be available for tomorrow's game against West Ham.....WOW!Good decision or Nah? pic.twitter.com/mELzecfFiF— Olayinka (@ykgunnerz) December 14, 2021
First it was Xhaka that was 'stripped.' Now it is the turn of Aubameyang. The coach who serially appoints stripped captains needs to be stripped, too, in order for Arsenal to start to make real progress. My friend said Patrick Vieira should be the next coach. What do you think?— Jide Akintunde (@JSAkintunde) December 14, 2021
Aubameyang is no longer the captain of Arsenal. Last month he claimed he was the coolest captain in the Premier League. pic.twitter.com/8No2jXcyJp— Eric Njiru (@EricNjiiru) December 14, 2021
Follow their lead @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/8w51koQjKw— Trey (@UTDTrey) December 14, 2021
Aubameyang clearly on his way out.... Finally!Image | Courtesy pic.twitter.com/uEz0cwiLPi— ʀᴏᴛɪᴄʜ ✪ (@Raw_Teach) December 14, 2021
Arteta will eventually have to face the fact that he is tactically not good enough to make us play the Arsenal way. It was not Ozil’s, Auba’s, Guendouzi’s , Bellerin or anyone else’s fault. Just him and his woeful tactics.He will win the PR battles but lose the manager war.— Leo Dasilva (@SirLeoBDasilva) December 14, 2021