Martin Keown expects Aubameyang to be stripped of the Arsenal captaincy

Aubameyang was left out of the squad for Arsenal's 3-0 victory against Southampton on Saturday after reportedly missing training on Friday.

There have been suggestions that the 32-year-old returned late from a trip abroad and former Arsenal defender Keown stated that Aubameyang's actions aren't befitting of being the club's captain.

Speaking on Match of the Day, Keown said: ‘The captaincy is in question now.

‘You can’t keep being late or disappearing on trips abroad and not coming back on time.

Your teams needs you and he’s not there when they need him the most. I’d expect that [the captaincy] to change now.’

Explaining why Aubameyang wasn't involved against Southampton, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: ‘I think we’ve been very consistent, there are some non-negotiables on the team that we have set ourselves and as a club and he’s not involved.

‘This certainly isn’t an easy situation, we don’t want our club captain to be in that situation.’

Aubameyang has struggled on the pitch of late, as evidenced by the fact that he has six league games without scoring.

Arsenal managed to cope well without Aubameyang against Southampton, with Alexandre Lacazette, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel all getting on the scoresheet.

Aubameyang only featured as a late substitute in Arsenal's defeat to Everton on Monday, with the striker missing an inviting opportunity to score.

In March Aubameyang was dropped for the game against Tottenham for disciplinary reasons.

Alan Shearer described Aubameyang's conduct as 'unacceptable'.

Shearer said: ‘It’s unacceptable.

‘For the second time for it to happen… once is not very good, for it to happen again and for his manager to come out and criticise him the way he did and tell everyone again he’s had to leave him out for those reasons, no, it’s not good enough.’

Aubameyang was named as Arsenal's captain in November 2019 after Granit Xhaka lost the armband following his angry reaction to being substituted against Crystal Palace.

Although his contract runs until the summer of 2023, Aubameyang's long-term future at Arsenal is looking increasingly uncertain.

Since joining Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 the Gabon international has found the net on 92 occasions in 163 games.

#sportsNews