Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes has shed some light on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s departure from north London.
Aubameyang had been a mainstay in the Gunners’ side for several years, and long stood as their top-scoring forward.
However, the Gabonese hitman then fell out of favour under Mikel Arteta late last year, for what at the time was described as disciplinary issues.
Aubameyang, despite being under contract until 2023, was then able to leave Arsenal on a free transfer in January.
And now, in a recent interview, Gabriel has revealed that an issue came to the fore between his former teammate and the coaching staff at the club, which did not involve the other Arsenal players:
“It’s something that happened between him and the coaching staff, the other players weren’t in it.”
“I said goodbye to him before he left, I hope he enjoys Barcelona, he is a very nice person with a big heart and I love him very much.”
Aubameyang impressing with Barcelona
Aubameyang, for his part, later revealed that he was aware he could leave for Barcelona the week before it happened:
“My father did it all with my lawyer and they can say it best,” the forward stated.
“But the week before we already knew that I could end up signing for Barca. The week before there were already contacts and I knew it.
“I really wanted to go to Barca. I gave up my salary because it is an opportunity that you have once in your life.”
Aubameyang has since scored four goals in five appearances for Barca, with his latest strike having come against Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday night:
👏 @Auba, 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐮𝐫#NapoliBarça (2-4) pic.twitter.com/kfDryOwq3V
— FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_fra) February 26, 2022
