One of the most important decisions Mikel Arteta had to make in his managerial career so far was to exile and then sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang while the Gabon international was Arsenal captain.
Since taking the reins at the Emirates in late 2019, Arteta has not exactly suffered fools gladly nor has he been afraid to cast aside the biggest players in the squad - just ask Mesut Ozil. But it has been his relationship with Aubameyang that has generated the most conversation, with the pair seemingly hitting it off at the start only to fall out in spectacular fashion.
A year-and-a-half after the 33-year-old signed a mega-money contract extension at the Emirates, Aubameyang had joined Barcelona for free having been forced to train alone in north London because of, as Arteta put it, his "latest disciplinary breach".
It has since emerged that the breach in question was the former Borussia Dortmund star returning later than planned from a mid-season trip to France to see his mother. Aubameyang lasted just six months at the Camp Nou before coming back to London to ply his trade for Arsenal's rivals Chelsea.
Now, after the emergence of a leaked video showing the current Blues star criticising Arteta's management, Mirror Football has taken a look at everything said between the two in public.
Arteta first confirms the news
HAVE YOUR SAY! Did Arteta handle Aubameyang badly during the last stages of the striker's time at Arsenal? Comment below
The Arsenal boss first revealed there had been a dispute ahead of kick-off for a home clash with Southampton late last year.
"He had a disciplinary breach, that applies to everybody. That's a non-negotiable and when that happens, he's out of the team," the Spaniard told reporters.
"Whatever happens in the dressing room, I cannot share. I am sorry. I'm telling you the reason, I cannot lie, it was that, this is where I stand. From my side, I will never [say what the breach was]."
Aubameyang speaks out
The first time anyone heard Aubameyang's side of the story came after his exit from Arsenal had been finalised. Between that time and Arteta first breaking the news of a disciplinary breach, the striker had also been stripped of the Gunners' captaincy.
During his unveiling as a Barcelona player, the FA Cup winner gave his version of events by explaining: "My last few months at Arsenal were complicated, that's football sometimes.
"For my part, I never wanted to do anything wrong. My problem was only with Arteta. I can't say much more, I wasn't happy. It was just him and he made that decision. He wasn't happy, I can't tell you more. He wasn't very happy, I was very calm.
"Those were difficult months. This is football. I've never wanted to do anything wrong, it's the past and I want to think about the present."
Arteta's dossier
Arsenal's decision to allow an Amazon camera crew a peak behind the curtain revealed to millions of viewers what kind of manager Arteta is like in and around the training ground.
While it has already been mentioned that the Gunners' boss is not one to be walked over, he is hardly a strict authoritarian either. With that being said, he was shrewd enough to keep hold of a dossier containing times and dates of all of Aubameyang's respective misdemeanours as shown in the docu-series.
In the programme, Arteta is heard talking to a colleague and explaining: "I have everything documented, with the dates, the times, the conversations, how it happened, why it happened... because of if one day it's needed.
"He [Aubameyang] has been late, apart from all the [other] issues, many times. The club has got a tradition. When you get paid that much."
In a separate scene, the Gunners' boss explains why he took the decision to banish Aubameyang. "You cannot measure trust. When that's gone, it's a really difficult point to get something back from. What happened . . . in the last ten years? In Spain, it is called 'Casa pepe' - everyone does whatever he f*****g wants."
"That's chaos"
In the aftermath of Aubameyang's departure, Arteta was subject to plenty of questions over whether his man-management skills were up to the task.
But the Arsenal boss came out on the defensive, insisting that he is more than happy to give players leeway but there must be some compromise and understanding from both parties.
Discussing Aubameyang, Arteta said: "You cannot treat everybody the same, they all have different needs. They need to release energy in different ways and we are here to understand that and try to facilitate that.
"But they also need to understand there are moments to do that. Not everybody can turn up at the time and the day that they want. That's chaos. If it's an organised chaos I'm happy for that because I've been a player.
"When you need to go and get lost in a mountain for two days, go. When you need to spend time with your family, go. No problem. But we should at least know if you’re going to be coming in or not."
Auba's video and response
Aubameyang was left red-faced when a video filmed in the weeks after he first left Arsenal was leaked over the weekend in which he bashed the way Arteta handles certain characters.
"Managing big players, big characters - he can't deal with it," the Gabon international claims in the video before another person present interjects by suggesting the Spaniard doesn't have "good people skills."
"Some young players, they don't say anything," the striker continued. He has since offered some context to his comments with a short statement uploaded to Twitter.
"Aware there is a video out that was recorded just after I arrived at Barca. At the time I still had a lot of bad feelings in me - Arsenal are doing great things this season and I wish all my old guys well, just not on November 6 [when Arsenal play Chelsea ]. Now full focus on tomorrow," wrote Aubameyang.
