Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta responds to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after striker aimed jab at him in leaked video

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has responded to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after the Chelsea striker slammed his former boss in a leaked video.

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Aubameyang left Arsenal in controversial circumstances in January after he fell out with Arteta and was stripped of the club’s captaincy over disciplinary issues.

The 33-year-old, who scored 92 goals across 163 games for Arsenal, moved to Barcelona but after just six months he returned to England by joining Chelsea.

Aubameyang, who has scored three goals in his last three games for the Blues, filmed an interview with A Jewellers on their YouTube channel shortly after leaving Arsenal for Barcelona – which has only been released recently – in which he aimed several digs at Arteta after their acrimonious falling out.

‘We knew the coach, Xavi, then he called me and said there is an opportunity because you have those problems with Arsenal, but if you come you will help us a lot, so I said okay,’ Aubameyang said in the video.

‘But to manage big characters or big players, he [Arteta] can’t deal with it. He [Arteta] needs some young players, they don’t say anything, they listen.’

Arteta has now responded, telling reporters on Wednesday: ‘People are free to discuss what they want.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>Reporter: What do you make of Aubameyang’s comments and handling big players? ð Arteta: People are free to say what they want… ð Reporter: Can you talk about the atmosphere in the squad this season? ð§ Arteta: Phenomenal, I’ve never been in a better dressing room ð#AFC pic.twitter.com/Lh37SG2pGB

‘I have never been in a better dressing room… it’s an absolute pleasure to be in this group.’

Aubameyang has since addressed the leaked clip, posting on