Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been removed from the list of Chelsea players who will play in the second round of the Champions League. With this decision, the future of the striker at the Blues seems unclear.
The sky is no longer “Blue” for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Gabonese is going through rough waters with the Blues of Chelsea. The former Barcelona player, who hardly played with the London club, was removed from the list of players chosen by Graham Potter to play in the second round of the most prestigious European competition, the Champions League. Not very convincing since his arrival at Chelsea last summer, the 33-year-old striker seems to have lost his prestige in the eyes of his new coach. Especially since the English coach now has a wide range of choices on his front line with the arrival of Enzo Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Joao Felix this winter.
With this new offensive arsenal, the former Brighton coach did not hesitate too much when it came to trimming his side. The Gabonese seemed the most likely striker to give up space. His name was then erased. Logically. Firstly because PEA is visibly on the decline; he lacks his bearings on the field, and has lost some of his scoring instinct. Then because the Blues are starting a new project that does not seem to make room for the former Lille player.
Besides the Champions League, it is not even guaranteed that we will see Aubameyang this season in the Premier League, given the competition in his position. In this situation, far from obvious for him, we can’t help but wonder: did he make the right choice to return to England? Not sure.
Captain, leader, providential striker, PEA was a king at the Gunners. Until the moment when… he turned his back on his coach at the time, Mikel Arteta, and his managers for disciplinary reasons. A series of decisions against him followed: removal of his captain’s armband. Auba was then removed from the group. Before being pushed to the exit while he had 18 months left on his contract with the London club.
The episode is painful, but the Gabonese deserves it, say many fans. If he is a magnificent player, PEA is not a flawless professional. His career is marked by misbehavior that does not honor him. Like the time he was filmed drunk in a nightclub while Gabon was in preparation for the AFCON 2021 in Cameroon. In the end, the captain of the Panthers had not played a single game with his selection.