CHELSEA manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted he ‘feels sorry’ for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after he was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy.
Aubameyang will not wear the captain’s armband for the Gunners anymore after his latest ‘disciplinary’ breach, which saw him return late from France.
The 32-year-old was also absent from Mikel Arteta’s squad in the 2-0 home win over top-four rivals West Ham.
And Arteta’s swift decision to punish Aubameyang has left Champions League-winning coach Tuchel feeling ‘sorry’ for his former player.
The forward worked under Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund and helped the German win his first major honour as a coach, scoring the winner against Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal 2017 final.
When asked if he will speak to Aubameyang about losing the captaincy, Tuchel said: “I will at some point. I feel sorry that he is in trouble.
“I believe in his positive character but I am not involved in this situation or his club. It is just about my picture & relationship.”
Boss Arteta hasn’t ruled out Aubameyang playing for Arsenal again.
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But says for now, the striker will not be involved with the squad.
Arteta said: “Has he played his last game for Arsenal? All I can say is that for now, he’s out of the squad, he’s not involved and sadly, this is the decision that we’ve taken.
“What I can say for now is that, you can understand it is a lot to digest and a really difficult decision to make, so we need a bit of time. It is a really unpleasant situation
“The decision that we made is really hurting, and it is still like this and it needs a bit of time to heal. So for now, he is not involved in the squad.”
Premier League icon Joe Cole has backed Arteta’s decision to strip Aubameyang of the captaincy AND drop him from the matchday squad.
Cole told BT Sport: “I think it’s a brave decision but I think it’s the right decision.
“This wouldn’t have been the first incident and when I look at (Patrick) Vieira, (Tony) Adams, etc, they had problems, which were well documented, but they were leaders.
“I was never comfortable with Aubameyang in that leadership group.
“There are a lot of people in this stadium that would go through walls to wear that Arsenal shirt. I think it’s sacrilege for players to be late, I really do.”
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