‘The boss has balls!’ – All or Nothing finally lifts lid on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang exile and fall-out

The latest episodes of All or Nothing: Arsenal have lifted the lid on the acrimonious breakdown in relations between Mikel Arteta and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as well as showing how the captain’s exile – and eventual exit – impacted the club.

Aubameyang was given leave for an agreed trip to France in early December for family reasons, shortly after a 2-1 defeat to Everton, but he returned late and failed to show up to training on time.

Arteta was furious, with the Gabon international having something of a history of bad time-keeping, and he was forced to train alone, stripped of the captaincy and eventually had his contract ripped up so he could join Barcelona on a free transfer in January.

There had been suggestions that there was more to the story than Aubameyang simply reporting back late to training, but All or Nothing highlights how important Arteta felt core values such as discipline and respect for the club were to the change in culture he was trying to implement.

With his skipper having ‘broken a non-negotiable’ – and not for the first time – Arteta informs the squad in a team meeting that the 33-year-old has been removed as captain, having compiled what is later described as a ‘catalogue of misdemeanours’.

‘I have to announce you something. Following the last disciplinary issue that we had with Auba, and the consequences that I decided to take not to involve him in the game, I thought carefully – myself and the club – what was the next step,’ says the Spanish coach.

‘And we have decided as a club that he is no longer our captain, so you should know that. The other decision is that, for now, he’s not involved in the squad. I will make decisions further along the line.’

He continued: ‘The club and myself we are not