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.
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Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta said that the “painful” decision had been made to “defend the interests of the football club”.
The Spaniard confirmed that both he and senior club officials had held face-to-face conversations with Aubameyang to inform him of their decision.
“I think it’s a really clear statement from the club,” Arteta said during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “It’s a decision that we’ve made following the last incident that we had with the player and this is where we stand.
“It’s been a lot to digest and a really difficult decision to make, so we need a bit of time.
“To make the decision that we made is because it was really hurting and it’s still like this and it needs a little bit of time to heal, so for now, again, he’s not involved in the squad.”
Arteta suggested that there would be no rush to appoint a permanent replacement for Aubameyang as captain, with members of the club’s ‘”leadership group” set to share the responsibility in the coming weeks.
Alexandre Lacazette, who took the armband for Saturday’s win over Southampton, and former club captain Granit Xhaka are both known members of the leadership group, whose other current members Arteta was unwilling to confirm.
“It’s a really unpleasant situation and it’s not the moment to make any rash decisions,” Arteta said.
“The leadership group is really strong. It’s one that communicates with myself, the coaching staff and with the club in a really strong way, and we’re going to continue like that.”
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.
I didn’t really get it in the first place if I’m being honest. But it does show you that he sets an example, and the youngsters look up to him. That’s why he was made captain.
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.
The 32-year-old scored only 15 goals last season, his lowest total since the 2010/11 campaign, and if his form was not enough of a worry, disciplinary issues began to arise too. Aubameyang kept hold of the armband after his indiscretion against Tottenham last season, but this has proved a breach too far.
