Arsenal have stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the club captaincy following a disciplinary breach last week. Aubameyang was left out of the squad for Saturday’s match against Southampton, and Arsenal confirmed their decision to remove the forward as captain on Tuesday. The club also said Aubameyang will not be available for selection against West Ham on Wednesday.

“We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed,” the club said in a statement. “We are fully focused on tomorrow’s match.” Mikel Arteta is due to give a press conference this afternoon, while the Arsenal manager previously said: “I think we have been very consistent that we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club.” Arteta was tight-lipped on the reasons for Aubameyang’s absence, refusing to comment when asked if the striker had returned late from a trip abroad.

This is not going to be a problem for Aubameyang because he’s got an unbelievable contract at the club. However, it’s a major problem for Arsenal. Who’s going to take him on those wages? Absolutely nobody in the whole wide world. And there’s his age too. If he was 27, they’d be queuing up around the corner for him, but not now at the age of 32. He turned up late for a meeting before and got left out of the side to face Tottenham. He’s the example. There are a lot of young players in that team who will look up to him. If you are the manager, of course you’d be disappointed. He’s been made captain of Arsenal Football Club. It’s a big thing and not just a run-of-the-mill thing. And with all the promising young kids at the club, he needs to set the example.