Former Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos has slammed the Gunners for how they handled Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's exit in January. The two players were teammates at both the Emirates Stadium and at Borussia Dortmund, and Sokratis believes that the situation could have been handled better.
Aubameyang was stripped of the club captaincy and banished from first-team training by Mikel Arteta after arriving back late from a trip to France. Towards the end of the January transfer window, the club took the decision to pay £7million to cancel the 32-year-old's contract, allowing him to leave for Barcelona on a free transfer.
Prior to his punishment, Aubameyang's form had been disappointing, scoring just four goals in 14 Premier League appearances. But since joining Xavi's Barca revolution, he has bagged eight times in just nine La Liga games.
READ MORE: Arsenal and Man Utd on red alert as Darwin Nunez price revealed after latest transfer decision
After taking the decision to release Aubameyang in January, Arteta showed little regret, saying: "I am grateful for what Auba has done at the club and his contribution since I have been here. The way I see myself in that relationship is the solution, not the problem.
"I think it ended up in the best possible way for everybody. I think when things change, and the context changes and this is part of football. And what we did yesterday or a month ago is not relevant, it's about what we do today and what we are going to do in the future. You have to make decisions. We all made the decision that the best thing was to move on and now he plays for Barca."
But Sokratis, who spent two and a half seasons with Arsenal before moving to Olympiacos, believes that his long-term teammate deserved better.
"Aubameyang is not the only one who left this way from Arsenal, other players also left like that; including myself," the 33-year-old said in an interview with The Sun. "That was the team’s choice, each footballer works for the team and has to respect that choice.
"I don’t know and personally I don’t think it was the correct choice, the matter could have been resolved differently. I’ve known Aubameyang for many years, I know what he can do as a footballer. I am certain of what he will do at Barcelona.
"I wish him good luck and all the best. The same goes for Arsenal despite the way I also left. I wish them well. [The way I left] Was not the best, I was left out of the team. But it’s a matter I haven’t spoken about yet, I respected the manager’s choice. I spoke with him.
"I am a professional, I worked for the club and love the club. I will definitely continue to be a friend and fan just like I am for all the other clubs I played for, such as Dortmund and [AC] Milan."
