Arsenal star Mohamed Elneny has revealed that he and his teammates are ‘scared’ of manager Mikel Arteta because of what happened to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Aubameyang was Arsenal’s captain and talisman until a year ago, when the striker was stripped of the armband by Arteta after a number of disciplinary issues.
He was ousted from the first-team and eventually had his contract cancelled, allowing the 33-year-old to move to Barcelona.
This was not the first time Arteta had had a falling out with a big personality at Arsenal, with departing the Emirates under a cloud in January 2021.
It was a series of events that shocked the football world and left the rest of the Gunners squad quaking in their boots according to Elneny.
‘Everyone looked at themselves because [if] Mikel did that to the captain of the team, what is he going to do with another player?’ the Egyptian midfielder said.
‘This showed that now we can’t play around. Everyone was scared! Everyone is scared with their position because this happened to Aubameyang.
‘Of course if anyone is not the captain of the team, does a small mistake, they are going to have the same problem, and no one needs that problem.’
Arsenal face Chelsea on Sunday, with Aubameyang set to come up against his former club for the first time since his departure, after switching the Camp Nou for Stamford Bridge over the summer.
The Gunners are a very different team now to what they were when the Gabon international last played for them, with Arteta’s side top of the league and 10 points clear of the Blues.
Elneny has made just two appearances so far this season, thanks largely to a lengthy thigh injury, but he returned to the pitch for the Europa League victory over Zurich on Thursday night.
He added: ‘We don’t allow big egos. This is the dressing room we have now.
‘Everyone loves each other and everyone works for each other. This is what actually makes our squad really strong, because we don’t have egos in the team.’
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