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Mikel Arteta has insisted there is no rift between him and Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gabon striker is struggling for form this season with only four goals and was hauled off at Manchester United in midweek when Arsenal were desperate for an equaliser.
That decision by Arteta prompted comments from pundits Alan Shearer and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry that there must be a problem between the pair and the player had been humiliated.
Mikel Arteta denied rumours of a rift between him and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Arteta was quick to set the record straight as he prepared for Monday night’s crucial trip back to the north-west and his former club Everton.
He said: ‘I can guarantee you that there is not a rift. You have to respect their opinion (Henry and Shearer’s) but what I can tell you is I have the relationship I want with him.
‘When I make decisions with 15, 20, 30 minutes left, or in the line-up at the start, it is done with one intention and that is to get the best out of the team.’
Pressed if he thought it was humiliating for Aubameyang to be withdrawn at such a crucial moment, he added: ‘That is the last word I would use with my players because if
