Mohamed Elneny has revealed Mikel Arteta’s decision to jettison Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left the other Arsenal players “scared” for their futures, but says the team is now thriving because “we don’t allow big egos”.
Aubameyang, who scored 92 goals in 163 games for Arsenal, was dropped and then stripped of the captaincy in December last year for returning late from a trip abroad, before being shipped out to Barcelona in February.
Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League but have started this season superbly and are top of the Premier League – ten points clear of Aubameyang’s new club, Chelsea, with the Gabon forward set to face his old side at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Elneny, the Arsenal midfielder, believes the 33-year-old’s departure was a turning point. “Everyone was scared with their position because this happened to Aubameyang,” Elneny said. “Everyone looked at themselves because Mikel did that to the captain of the team. What is he going to do with another player?
“This showed that now, we can’t play around; now we have to be calm with the team and we have to stick with the team, not do something different.”