By Goal.com News on Sunday, 14 March 2021
Category: Goal.com News

Aubameyang left out of Arsenal starting XI to face Tottenham for disciplinary reasons

The Gabon international was dropped to the bench for the north London derby, with Alexandre Lacazette replacing him

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been left out of Arsenal's starting XI to face Tottenham for disciplinary reasons, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.

The striker was dropped to the bench for Sunday's north London derby clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Aubameyang, 31, has scored 14 goals in 29 appearances in all competitions this season and captained the side on Thursday as they beat Olympiacos 3-1 in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

What did Arteta say?

"He was going to start the game. We had a disciplinary issue, we have drawn the line and we move on. He's on the bench," Arteta told Sky Sports.

"We keep that internally. We have a process we have to respect for every game and that’s it.

“It was a decision made after evaluating everything."

Who takes Aubameyang's place?

Alexandre Lacazette has been called on to fill in for the punished forward.

Lacazette is the Gunners' joint-top scorer in the Premier League this season alongside Aubameyang, having scored nine times in 23 appearances.

Arteta has made two more changes to the team that started against the Greek giants in midweek, as Cedric Soares starts at right-back in place of Hector Bellerin and Emile Smith Rowe is on instead of Willian.

The state of play before the derby

Arsenal are 10th in the Premier League heading into Sunday's clash and are seven points behind Spurs, who sit seventh.

While Jose Mourinho's team are on a three-game winning run in the league, Arteta's men have collected four points from their last three matches.

Arsenal drew 1-1 with Burnley last week after beating Leicester and losing to Manchester City.

Further reading

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Original author: Peter McVitie
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