PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG has opened up on suffering from depression before he left Arsenal.
The former Gunners skipper, 34, was stripped of the captaincy by Mikel Arteta in December 2021, after arriving back late from an authorised trip to France.
Aubameyang never played for Arsenal again, going on to sign for Barcelona after having his Gunners contract terminated the following February.
After a successful six-month stint with Barca he returned to the Premier League with Chelsea.
But he did not earn a permanent deal at Stamford Bridge and ultimately signed for Marseille, for whom he scored 30 goals in all competitions this season.
With the French campaign having concluded, the striker hopped on the Colinterview – Oh My Goal YouTube channel to discuss his career.
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During the wide ranging conversation Aubameyang opened up on the end of his time with Arsenal, admitting mental health issues caused him to “drink a lot”.
Aubameyang said: “I’m sure I was depressed.
“There are attitudes that are seriously different from your daily life.
“For example, I started drinking a lot. It was a difficult passage. It started a little before I was fired from Arsenal.
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“So yes, it was depression, I think that personally it was related to the state of health of my parents. It affects a man, it was difficult.
“How to get out? Often we say that we have to talk about it, there’s no shame in that.”
The last of Aubameyang’s 163 appearances for Arsenal came as a late substitute in their 2-1 defeat at Everton on December 6, 2021.
He subsequently went back to France on an authorised to trip to visit his unwell mother.
Delving into his side of the story, Aubameyang explained that following that clash with Everton, he had received permission from Arteta to go to France to visit his mother, who had suffered from a stroke a few months earlier.
On what happened next, he said: “I’m going home to Laval, normally I was supposed to leave on the free day and return in the evening rather than the morning of training.
At that moment I tell myself that I’m not going to answer him because it’s going to end angrily
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
“My mother had exams to do, I couldn’t leave in the evening so I left the next morning on training day.
“Once I got there, I had to take my test but in fact I should have done it the day before since I was coming from another country.
“I arrive, the coach finishes his meeting and then he grabs me and he completely tears into me, he shouts at me like I’m crazy, he says: ‘You put a knife in my back. You can’t do that to me given the times we’re going through.’
“At that moment I tell myself that I’m not going to answer him because it’s going to end angrily.
“I didn’t go partying. He knows very well the reason for my departure so at that moment I don’t understand why he is lecturing me like this.”
Aubameyang then revealed that he was told that Arteta did not want him to join up with the group, and that he would have to train on his own.
Next came the bombshell that he was losing the armband, with the Arsenal boss summoning his skipper to a one-on-one meeting to reveal the news.
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During those same talks Aubameyang learned that he would no longer be working with the rest of the group at all, with his time at Arsenal effectively over.
Two months later he left the club, joining Barcelona after having his contract terminated.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
