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Granit Xhaka was the only Arsenal player to give Aubameyang 'a warm embrace' in pre-match handshake

Granit Xhaka was the only Arsenal player to give Aubameyang 'a warm embrace' in pre-match handshake

The Gabon international came up against his former club on Sunday afternoon.

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

Chelsea forward Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang came up against former side Arsenal in Sunday afternoon's lunchtime kick-off, and all eyes were on the pre-match handshake before kick-off.

It's fair to say Aubameyang's departure from the North London club earlier this year was sour.

After helping the Gunners win last season's FA Cup, the Gabon international was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy following a breach of discipline in December, with the striker reportedly returning late from a trip abroad.

In the coming weeks, Aubameyang was left out of matchday squads and found himself frozen out of Mikel Arteta's first-team plans until he sealed a late January move to Barcelona.

Since then, Aubameyang penned a two-year deal with Chelsea in what was a surprise move this summer – and on Sunday afternoon, he came up against former club Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

Ahead of kick-off, the experienced forward shook hands with some of his former teammates.

But as Twitter account @afcstuff pointed out, Granit Xhaka was the only Arsenal player to give their former captain a 'warm embrace' in the pre-match handshake.

You can see that footage below.

Back in October, Aubameyang called out former boss Mikel Arteta.

In a clip that circulated on social media, he slammed Arteta for being unable to handle senior players in the dressing room.

"Big characters and big players...he can't deal with it. He needs some young players who don't say anything,” said Aubayemang in the video.

He later posted an apologetic tweet addressing the leaked footage. "Aware there is a video out that was recorded just after I arrived at Barca," the 33-year-old tweeted.

"At the time I still had a lot of bad feelings in me - Arsenal are doing great things this season and I wish all my old guys well, just not on November 6," added the striker, referencing Arsenal's trip to Stamford Bridge next month. Now full focus on tomorrow."

Image credit: Alamy
Image credit: Alamy

Thoughts on Aubameyang's performance against his former club on Sunday?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@charles_watts - Alamy

Topics: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Chelsea, Arsenal, Premier League

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

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@jackkenmare_