Arteta refuses to discuss Aubameyang, happy with Odegaard & Lacazette – Arseblog News

After watching with him beat Southampton with a score of 3-0, Mikel Arteta wasn’t in the mood to expand on the details of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s “disciplinary violation” that left the Arsenal captain out of the squad for the game.

The Athletic reported this evening that Aubameyang had returned late from a sanctioned trip abroad and that the direct impact on the club’s Covid-19 protocols means the matter cannot be ignored.

If true, this is not the first time the striker’s tardiness has caused him to go missing. The 32-year-old was ruled out of last season’s north London derby after getting stuck in traffic on his way to the match.

When details of David Ornstein’s report were given to Arteta in press conference after the game, he said: “It was a disciplinary violation and that’s why he was dropped from the team.”

Pressed on whether his main target threat is still captaincy, he added:

“Let’s talk about the game, guys. I tried to explain what it was and I did it frankly. I won’t say anything else. I will focus on the performance and what the team did on the pitch.

“I’m really happy because we won 3-0 and we go into the next game against West Ham, you won’t get anything else from me. Unfortunately, it happened. ”

In Auba’s absence, Alex Lacazette took the captain’s armband and opened the scoring before Martin Odegaard, with his header, scored his third goal in a 10-day span.

Arteta was pleased with both of their contributions.

“He [Odegaard] Should have scored a hat-trick against Everton,” said Norwegian Arteta.

“He was more involved in the field and now he understands why we encouraged him to do it because then he was the matchmaker.

“It’s the difference between a really good player and someone who is leading the game and we need more of those players on the pitch to win more games.”

Of Lacazette, he added: “I’m really happy with him, he did everything we asked him to do in the game.

“First of all, he got on the pitch and his defensive actions were top, and then the way he linked up, the way he understood the space and the threat he was in the box.

“That’s why he scored the goal and he had the opportunities to do it. He’s really influenced the team and I’m really pleased with him.”