Jamie O’Hara has taken aim at Arsenal once more and believes Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should have been stripped of the captaincy last month.
The Gunners have endured a season to forget and currently lie ninth in the Premier League ahead of a crunch Europa League clash with Slavia Prague on Thursday night – which is live on talkSPORT.
Aubameyang has scored just nine Premier League goals to date in 2020/21 and caused a stir when he was pictured stuck in traffic ahead of the north London derby with Tottenham on March 14.
And speaking on Thursday’s Breakfast show, ex-Tottenham midfielder O’Hara let rip at the Gabon international who he believes should not be in Arsenal’s starting XI.
“He shouldn’t play, he’s not good enough. He’s been poor this season, he doesn’t produce for the team,” O’Hara said.
“He’s not a leader. He’s meant to be the captain – but he’s turning up late.
“He doesn’t lead by example and Arsenal are a better team when he doesn’t play. He isn’t their best player anymore.”
Arsenal with and without Aubameyang
Darren Bent and Jamie O'Hara have both claimed on talkSPORT this week that Arsenal are better without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - and this season's stats back the pair up...
With: W9, D5, L11 – 36 per cent win rate
Without: W4, D1, L1 – 66.6 per cent win rate
O’Hara says if he was in manager Mikel Arteta’s shoes then the armband would have come off.
“Yeah, I would of [stripped him as captain]. I would of took it off him. And say you’re not the captain because you turning up late, you’re not the leader on the pitch and you’re not performing.
“Your captain is the person who is either your best player week in week out or you’re the leader on the pitch. Aubameyang is none of them.”
And speaking on the same show earlier this week, Darren Bent echoed O’Hara sentiments regarding Aubameyang’s role in the current Gunners side.
He explained: “At times it’s like they’re playing with 10 men. Whereas with [Alexandre] Lacazette – he might not score the same amount of goals as Aubameyang scores – but I think he offers a lot more.
“That’s in terms of his hold up play and bringing people into the game, so for me at times Arsenal do look better without him [Aubameyang].
“And that’s how it should be with a captain. As a captain you should be virtually undroppable – in terms of attitude – and even if they’re not playing well they’re still working hard for the team.
“So you’d go even though he’s not having his best of games he’s still got an influence on the rest of the team.
“And I think kind of like, at times, Aubameyang’s captain but they’re still playing with 10 men.”
Meanwhile, O’Hara doesn’t see Arsenal’s fortunes changing anytime soon and believes they’re destined to be stuck in mediocrity for years to come.
He added: “They get a result against a poor team like Sheffield United and it’s like ‘oh yeah, Arteta’s doing a great job.
“They have been so average and so poor this season it’s a joke.
“This is Arsenal football club we’re talking about – one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“They are miles behind everyone else. They’re just a completely mediocre side now who are going to finish eighth or ninth every season.”