Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang addresses ‘false rumours’ over AFCON exit in an angry statement
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has insisted that he left the Africa Cup of Nations for medical reasons, despite rumors of a disciplinary breach.
The Arsenal forward did not play in Gabon’s first two games at the World Cup, missing the win over Comoros due to coronavirus and then being ruled out of Friday’s draw with Ghana due to a heart problem.
Gabon announced last week that Aubameyang, Mario Lemina, and Axel Meye had been diagnosed with “cardiac lesions.”
The issue was initially thought to be minor, but the Gabonese Football Federation has now stated that Arsenal and Lemina’s club Nice will be able to conduct medical checks on their players.
A statement read: “The Gabon Football Federation decided to make the players Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina available to their clubs to continue the in-depth examinations.”
Soon after the announcement, rumors spread on social media that Aubameyang and Lemina had violated disciplinary protocols.
Aubameyang, on the other hand, dismissed such accusations in a tweet on Monday evening.
Translated from French, he wrote: “We have problems that are already complicated to solve, then on top of that there are rumours.
“In short, we have health to take care of first and foremost. I won’t go back on these false rumours and I sincerely hope that our team will go as far as possible.”
Midfielder Lemina also took to social media to address the issue, saying on his Instagram Stories: “I’m not even going to feed lies that seek to harm. I have nothing to do (with it).”
Aubameyang, 32, did not play for Arsenal in the five games leading up to his departure for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
After returning late from a sanctioned trip abroad, he was stripped of the club captaincy and dropped from the first team – not his first breach of discipline at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal, according to the PA news agency, were unaware of Aubameyang’s position when Gabon announced his departure, and it remains to be seen whether he will be back in the first-team picture when he is deemed fit enough to return to action.
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Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang addresses ‘false rumours’ over AFCON exit in an angry statement
