DUBAI: Arsenal stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the captaincy on Tuesday after another disciplinary breach, saying the striker hadn’t worked “to the rules and standards” set by the club.
Aubameyang, Arsenal’s highest-paid player, was also told he would not be considered for selection for the English Premier League game against West Ham on Wednesday.
The Gabon striker was left out for the 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday because of what manager Mikel Arteta described as a “disciplinary breach.” Aubameyang reportedly was allowed by the club to travel to France for a family matter last week, after the 2-1 loss at Everton on Dec. 6 which he started as a substitute, but returned a day later than agreed.
Arteta said it was a “really unpleasant situation” but the decision was taken in a bid to “build that trust and strong culture around the club.”
“They have demanded that we ... take our culture, our demands and who we want to be as a club — and how we want to represent this football club — to a different level,” Arteta said of his squad. “And when those standards are not met, you know you cannot participate on a daily basis.”
Aubameyang was left out of the team for the north London derby against Tottenham in March because of a “disciplinary issue,” according to Arteta at the time. He was reported to have been late for training on that occasion.
Arteta didn’t say if there had been other breaches of discipline by Aubameyang.
“We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed,” Arsenal said in a short statement.
“We are fully focused on tomorrow’s match.”
Aubameyang has just four goals in 14 Premier League games this season after signing a three-year contract extension last year that made him the team’s highest-paid player.
He was made captain by Arteta’s predecessor, Unai Emery, after Granit Xhaka was stripped of the honor in November 2019 following his angry reaction to being booed by Arsenal fans after being substituted in a league game.
Xhaka is part of a recently formed “leadership group” at the club which also involves French striker Alexandre Lacazette, who was captain against Southampton.
Whoever replaces Aubameyang as captain on a permanent basis will be Arsenal’s 11th in 14 years, and Arteta said it was a significant role because of the team’s “multi-racial dressing room that needs a lot of attention and different feelings and different languages.”
“That leadership group is really strong, is the one that communicates with myself and the coaching staff and with the club in a really clear and strong way, and we will continue like that,” Arteta said.
“That is one of the decisions we made — to make that group a little bit better and try to educate them and to get the right feedback all the time and build that trust and strong culture around the club.”
Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 and his latest contract runs to the summer of 2023.
He said he wanted to become “an Arsenal legend” when using a live video recording on Twitter to announce his lucrative new deal in September last year. That was a reward at the end of his first two full seasons at Arsenal where he shared the Golden Boot — the trophy given to the Premier League’s leading scorer — in the 2018-19 season and was only one goal short of the award, won by Leicester’s Jamie Vardy, in the 2019-20 season.
He also scored twice in the FA Cup final in August 2020 to give Arsenal a 2-1 win over Chelsea and the club’s first trophy under Arteta.
Aubameyang’s performance levels have dipped since then and he scored 10 league goals last season, which proved difficult for him. In January, he was granted time away to visit his mother because she had health issues, and he missed games in the Premier League and FA Cup. He also had time out in April after contracting malaria.
Arsenal is in sixth place, two points behind fourth-placed West Ham going into the game at Emirates Stadium.
Aubameyang stripped of Arsenal captaincy, dropped for game
https://arab.news/rv3za
Aubameyang stripped of Arsenal captaincy, dropped for game
- Aubameyang, Arsenal's highest-paid player, was also told he would not be considered for selection for EPL’s game against West Ham on Wednesday
- Arteta said it was a “really unpleasant situation" but the decision was taken in a bid to “build that trust and strong culture around the club”
Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight
Portugal join France, Germany, Italy and Spain in the last-eight while Poland’s hopes of going through from Group A1 were ended.
Having struggled to plant a shot on target in the first half, Portugal stepped on the accelerator after the break.
Rafael Leao broke the deadlock in Porto just before the hour mark after starting and finishing the move.
The AC Milan striker raced away and passed to Nuno Mendes whose cross from the left was headed powerfully past Marcin Bulka in the Portugal goal.
Thirteen minutes later, skipper Ronaldo got his name on the scoresheet, converting a penalty after Jakub Kiwior was penalized for a handball in the area.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes made it 3-0 in the 80th minute, scoring after a clever run by Vitinha.
Pedro Neto added the fourth three minutes later after Ronaldo’s fine pass which left the Polish defense stranded.
As Polish spirits sank, Ronaldo added his second and Portugal’s fifth in the 87th minute with a spectacular overhead kick before Dominik Marczuk tucked away a consolation goal for the visitors.
Poland had enjoyed the better chances before falling behind but their potency in front of goal was blunted by the absence of record goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski who was sidelined with a back injury.
Moments before Leao’s goal, Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa pulled off a fine save to deny Marczuk having also been alert to deny Nicola Zalewski in the first half.
Portugal’s best chance in the first 45 minutes had fallen to Ronaldo who fired a close-range effort over the bar from close range.
Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura says he will play next season at age 58
- Miura will turn 58 in February
- He intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka
TOKYO: Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura is several generations older than his teammates. His contemporaries retired decades ago. Lionel Messi is 37, and Cristiano Ronaldo is 39 — mere youngsters compared to Miura.
Miura will turn 58 in February, and the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported this week that he intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka. It will be his 40th season playing in professional soccer.
Miura is widely listed as the oldest active professional soccer player.
Miura scored 55 goals in 89 appearances and was a star with Japan’s national team in the 1990s.
He has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Brazilian club Santos, a side made famous by Brazilian star Pelé.
Japan beat Indonesia 4-0 to extend group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying
- Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round.
- Australia, Saudi Arabia and China all have 6 points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with 3
JAKARTA: Japan defeated Indonesia 4-0 on Friday to move seven points clear at the top of Group C in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Two goals in each half mean the Samurai Blue stays on course for an eighth successive World Cup appearance.
After a bright start from the home team, the 78,000 fans at a sold-out Gelora Bung Karno Stadium were silenced after 35 minutes as Daichi Kamada broke down the left and sent a cross which defender Justin Hubner put into his own net from close range.
Takumi Minamino then scored from inside the area off Kaoru Mitoma’s pass to extend the lead five minutes before the break.
Hidemasa Motira took advantage of an errant pass from Indonesia’s goalkeeper to make it 3-0 early in the second half and Yukinari Sugawara rounded out the scoring in the 69th minute.
Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round. Australia, Saudi Arabia and China all have six points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with three.
The top two from each of the three groups will be guaranteed a place at the World Cup, with the third- and fourth-place teams progressing to the next stage.
Pogba and Juventus end contract mutually before he returns from doping ban
- The Serie A club never seemed overly enthusiastic about welcoming Pogba back
- “Juventus Football Club and Paul Pogba announce that they have reached a mutual agreement for the termination of their contract as of Nov. 30, 2024,” the Bianconeri said
TURIN, Italy: Paul Pogba will no longer be a Juventus player from next month.
Juventus announced on Friday they came to “a mutual agreement” with Pogba to cancel his contract despite the France World Cup winner having a ban for doping slashed last month.
The Serie A club never seemed overly enthusiastic about welcoming Pogba back after his four-year ban for doping was reduced to 18 months following an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The 31-year-old Pogba, who will be free to resume his career in March 2025, had said he was ready to give up money to play for Juventus again.
“Juventus Football Club and Paul Pogba announce that they have reached a mutual agreement for the termination of their contract as of Nov. 30, 2024,” the Bianconeri said in a brief statement. “The club wish Paul the very best for his professional future.”
Pogba tested positive for testosterone in August last year and the Juventus midfielder was handed the maximum punishment by Italy’s anti-doping court.
But CAS judges cut Pogba’s ban as they acknowledged a lack of intent and said his positive test was the result of erroneously taking a supplement prescribed to him by a medical doctor in Florida.
Pogba’s contract with Juventus was set to expire in June 2026.
“My time at Juventus has come to an end. It has been a privilege to pull on the shirt of the Bianconeri and to share so many special memories together,” Pogba said in a statement.
“I cherish the memories we made. They live on. Even in the most difficult moments over the past year, your support was crucial and I want to thank Juve fans around the world for their compassion.”
Pogba was the most expensive soccer player in history when he joined Manchester United from Juventus for a fee of 105 million euros ($113 million) in 2016.
He starred in France’s World Cup triumph in 2018 and returned to Juventus as a free agent in 2022. But injuries limited him to just eight Serie A appearances in his second spell at the club before his ban last year.
“I am looking forward to the next chapter of my career and to stepping out on the pitch with my next club,” Pogba added.
Ruben Amorim has declared his mission for Man United
- Amorim said on Friday, “I will try to do everything to put this club in the place that it belongs. And I believe a lot that we are going to succeed”
- “We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games”
MANCHESTER, England: Ruben Amorim has told Manchester United fans he will do everything to bring the good times back to the 20-time English champion.
United’s new coach has been charged with ending more than a decade of decline at Old Trafford since former manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 and their Premier League dominance fizzled out.
Amorim — hired from Sporting Lisbon this month — is embracing the challenge and said on Friday, “I will try to do everything to put this club in the place that it belongs. And I believe a lot that we are going to succeed.”
The 39-year-old Portuguese is the sixth permanent manager/coach since Ferguson retired after winning his 13th league title.
David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag all failed to return United to the summit of English and European soccer in a period when Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have dominated domestically.
It is unlikely Amorim will change that after coming in partway through a season in which United made their worst league start since 1986.
“We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games,” Amorim told United’s in-house channel. “But the most important thing for me is identity. So, since day one we will start with our identity.”
Asked what could be expected from his team in the first weeks of his reign, he added: “I want to say beautiful things to you, but I’m really honest. But what I can say is that I think you will see an idea.”
