Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was named Arsenal's captain in November 2019 but a little over two years later and the forward was stripped of the armband.
The forward was the talisman at the Emirates when he succeeded Granit Xhaka as the club's leader, yet Mikel Arteta clearly felt his actions were not befitting of a man who should set the example. Aubameyang's misdemeanour that ultimately cost him came in December last year before a clash with Southampton.
But it was by no means the first black mark on the forward's scorecard. He was benched for a North London Derby, which Arsenal won, due to a disciplinary breach and it was the same issue that cost him months later, only this was one he would not be able to recover from.
The Gunners beat the Saints 3-0 on December 11, but their win was not the talking point, instead, it was the absence of their captain. Internally, attention turned to how the club would deal with the issues surrounding Aubameyang and Arteta met with sporting director Edu, chief executive Vinai Venkatesham, director Tim Lewis and director of football operations Richard Garlick.
Together they discussed which measures would be taken and, before they took on West Ham at the Emirates on December 15, the decision was made to strip Aubameyang of the captaincy and keep him out of the first-team picture.
The squad were informed about the bombshell decision, which came as a shock to many. Arteta said: "I have to announce to 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 to myself and the club about the next step and we have decided as a club that he is no longer captain. 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. We keep going as we are as a group right now, and we have to set ourselves even bigger aims and bigger standards. The club and myself, we are not going to accept any behaviour like this, and what we are building goes against any behaviour like that.
"So we have to any meaning to changing our culture and making sure we become a different club and team, we have to stand to those words in every action with anybody. And this is the message I have to send you. I don't like the timing, but I had to make that clear to you."
Arteta then had to justify his decision to the media, who were keen to quiz him on his thought process. The Spaniard had been in charge for two years and one school of thought was that he was trying to assert his authority early in his managerial career.
"I don't establish my authority by being dictatorial or ruthless," claimed the Arsenal boss on that matter. He said about the decision: "I have nothing more to say. I think it's a really clear statement from the club. It's a decision we made following the last incident we have with the player and this is where we stand."
He also added: "To be successful, if you are passionate about something and want to represent a club of this size with its history, that's the minimum standard you need. I'm not going to put the ball in the top corner every time they hit, but I will ask them to do the right things every single day for this club, that's for sure."
Following the press conference, Arteta had a brief dialogue with the club's head of communications, Mark Gonnella, as they alluded to "the truth" with the latter claiming it "will clarify everything but you can't do it".
"They insisted quite a lot, yeah? I don't think we give them any big highlights," said Arteta as they left the media room. As the pair walk around the Gunners' London Colney training base, he can be heard saying "Mark [Irwin, journalist] made a fair point saying: 'Are you trying to show your authority?' That's why I said 'Listen, it's not about that' especially in this case.
"And that's the problem, what you really want, the truth, will clarify everything but you can't do it," says Gonnella in reply.
"That's why I have everything documented," says Arteta. "With the dates, the times, the conversation, how it happened, why it happened...because if one day it's needed [it's there].
"He's [Aubameyang] been late, apart from all the issues many times. The club has got a tradition. When you get paid that much money..."
Clearly, Arteta's decision was far from an impulsive one, instead something that had clearly been bubbling away.
The club were wise to the prospect of legal action as Aubameyang continued to be shunned. Director of football operations Richard Garlick knew exactly that and said: "We can't continue down this route of him being excluded from training until the end of the season."
He also added: "Mikel has a file, it's a catalogue of misdemeanours that he's had, which has culminated in this." The saga concluded with the forward having his contract terminated, which freed him up to join Barcelona and allowed for a clean break for both parties.
