Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang refused to run during Borussia Dortmund training in order to force through a January transfer, according to former manager Peter Stoger.
Aubameyang eventually got his desired move to Arsenal, when the Gunners agreed a deal worth a reported £56m.
The Gabonese forward enjoyed four and a half years with the Bundesliga side, where he made a name for himself as one of the most impressive forwards in European football.
However, after an underwhelming beginning to last season at Dortmund and a number of issues with the club behind the scenes, Aubameyang was desperate to move on when Arsenal came calling at the start of this year.
So much so, that Stoger, who was in charge when negotiations were ongoing between the two clubs, has claimed the striker went out of his way to force the German side to get rid of him.
“He left me no other choice. He trained well four days of the week. But to underline his wish for a transfer, he skipped team meetings before games or refused to run during the final training,” the ex-Dortmund boss said.
“We did our best to keep him for at least another half a year, but Auba wasn’t ready for that.”
Despite this, Stoger says he enjoyed working with Aubameyang and claims there are no personal issues between the pair.
“Honestly, I got along well with him although he kept me pretty busy for four weeks. But ‘Auba’ personally apologised to me before joining Arsenal,” Stoger continued.
“He told me that his behaviour had nothing to do with my person and that he had felt my support.”
Is Aubameyang now unhappy with Emery?
Aubameyang has enjoyed a successful start to the season with Arsenal, having so far netted nine goals since the arrival of Unai Emery.
His most recent goal came in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday. The striker put the Gunners in front in the second half but was substituted in the 78th minute. Palace then went on to net an equaliser.
then why are you replacing him? Why not let him score again? #YaGunnersYa
— Name cannot be blank (@rajamudaikhsan) October 28, 2018
After the game, Aubameyang appeared to retweet a fan who suggested that Emery was in the wrong for substituting the striker.
Emery has sometimes been reluctant to play both Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette together in attack.
Arsenal’s next match will see them host Blackpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, before the visit of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the Premier League this Saturday.
The post Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang refused to run in training to force Arsenal transfer appeared first on Squawka News.
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