Chelsea misfit Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang liked an Instagram post announcing Graham Potter ’s Stamford Bridge departure in what is a telling message to his former boss.
The Blues announced the former Brighton man’s sacking on Sunday evening in the aftermath of their 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa. The reverse at the hands of Unai Emery ’s men appeared to be the final straw for the Chelsea board - Potter’s less than inspiring stint at the club being brought to an end just seven months after he put pen to paper on a five-year deal in West London.
Reports claim the Chelsea squad had been caught off-guard by Potter’s exit. Some were only informed that he had departed via the club’s official announcement.
There has so far been silence from Cobham, with players yet to issue their thoughts on Potter’s sacking, but it appears that Aubameyang has made his feelings clear. A copy of Chelsea’s statement was shared on the club’s official Instagram channel and the post was liked by Aubameyang.
The former Arsenal man has endured a nightmare spell at Stamford Bridge following his arrival from Barcelona last summer. He was signed under Thomas Tuchel only for the German coach to be sacked the following week.
Aubameyang has gone on to make just 17 appearances under Potter, only nine of those being starts, and scoring only three goals. He has also been left out of the squad entirely for each of the previous three Premier League games.
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The Gabonese striker was also excluded from Chelsea’s Champions League squad. Giving an explanation as to why he was left out at the time, Potter said: “I don’t think it’s going to be difficult [not having Aubameyang] because Pierre’s a professional and of course I understand he will be disappointed.
“It was a tough decision, a tough call, we had three coming in and two had to go out, so he was the one that missed out.
“He’s done nothing wrong at all. We wanted to give David some game time today, in terms of seeing where he’s at and give him that opportunity. We saw that one flash of what he’s got. Pierre’s just unfortunate and he’ll be fighting for his place for the rest of the season.”
Interestingly, Aubameyang wasn’t the only Chelsea star to issue their response to Potter’s sacking. On-loan Juventus star Denis Zakaria also liked the post announcing the manager’s departure.
The Swiss midfielder has also been starved for opportunities under Potter this season with just six starts in all competitions since his arrival from Brighton back in September. He and Aubameyang will certainly hope to receive more opportunities over the coming weeks as the search for a new boss at Stamford Bridge gets under way.
