14 September 2023 , 10:17
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Mikel Arteta was left unhappy after finding out that Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette had formed a breakaway three-man group at Arsenal.
Pepe became the last of the trio to leave when his £3million move to Trabzonspor was confirmed last week, bringing to an end a four-year spell in north London.
Lacazette and former captain Aubameyang had more fruitful spells in north London but were moved on by Arteta as he turned to youth. Aubameyang, who is now in France with Marseille, was involved in a high-profile bust-up with the Arsenal boss after a string of off-field incidents
According to ESPN, Arteta spotted what he felt was a major problem when Pepe, Lacazette and Aubameyang formed a clique, with the trio spending a lot of time together. Arteta was not best pleased with the emergence of the breakaway group and felt it was stifling their progress.
Pepe, meanwhile, is thought to have gained a reputation as one of the last players out on the training pitch and is said to have rarely spoken to staff who did not work with the senior set-up. ESPN also report that Pepe would 'hang back' with Aubameyang and Lacazette in the dressing room while other players were on time.
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Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette formed a three-man friendship group at Arsenal (Getty Images)Arteta, who took over as first-team boss in December 2019 from Unai Emery, has had to undergo a clear-out of his Arsenal squad in the past few years. The Spaniard is now reaping the rewards, with the Gunners finishing second in the Premier League last season and qualifying for the Champions League again.
When asked about the decision to offload Aubameyang and others last year, Arteta told Sky Sports: "First of all I didn’t take that decision, we took that decision as a club. Obviously there is my recommendation and what I feel that we need to do to get where we want.
"But I wouldn’t like to single out one player. I think it was with several players. It was part of the strategy of what we’re trying to build. At the end of the day, when you are in that process and you want to go faster there are people holding that boat [back] and putting weight on it.
"I’m sorry but we want to go even faster and there’s no time, whether it’s a player or a staff member, for someone damaging the club and we made that decision."