Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was dropped by Mikel Arteta as a result of the Arsenal captain turning up late.
Eyebrows were raised when Arsenal's talisman and main goal threat was not named in the starting XI for today's North London derby at the Emirates Stadium.
It was then confirmed by Arteta that the Gabon striker was left out for disciplinary reasons but understandably wouldn't go into too much detail.
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"He was going to start the game but we had a disciplinary issue," Arteta told Patrick Davison of Sky Sports.
"We have drawn the line and we move on. We keep it internal."
Following up, David Ornstein and James McNicholas from The Athletic reported that Arteta made an example of Aubameyang because he wasn't on time for meeting up with the squad early on today - thus falling foul of the club's matchday protocol.
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It's said that the former Borussia Dortmund man has been late on a number of occasions, resulting in Arteta feeling he ought to punish his main man.
Alexandre Lacazette, who has three goals against Spurs in the league, was drafted in to lead the line instead.
Commenting on Arteta's decision, former Arsenal player and interim manager Freddie Ljungberg said on Sky Sports: "It's a weird one, it upsets your team a little bit.
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"Listening, the only thing I can think about is maybe he's been late or something because you're still keeping him on the bench - it can't be that bad.
"But of course it upsets the players."
Aubameyang has scored 84 goals in all competitions since joining Arsenal in 2018, including three in five games against Spurs.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Spurs, Football, Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
