Evening Standard
Mikel Arteta has dismissed suggestions he is trying to establish his authority at Arsenal by being “dictatorial”, in the wake of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang being stripped of the captaincy.
Aubameyang lost the armband earlier this month after his latest disciplinary breach, which involved him returning late from a sanctioned trip aboard.
As well as being stripped of the captaincy, the 32-year-old has not been involved in any of the last four match-day squads and he is training alone ahead of next month’s Africa Cup of Nations.
But asked if he is too uncompromising in sticking to his principles too much, Arteta said: “No, I guarantee you that is not the case.”
Then pressed if he is looking to establish his authority because he’s a young manager, Arteta replied: “I don’t establish my authority by being dictatorial or trying to be ruthless.
“I just ask for one thing, it’s respect and commitment. That’s all. And if you don’t ask for that at this level, I think I pack my bags and I go somewhere else because that’s the minimum you can ask for.
“I am sorry but I am going to expect that (respect and commitment) from everybody who works for the club. First of all myself.
“And the day I don’t do that, I walk through that door and go and do something else. It is as clear as that.
“To be successful you have to be passionate about something and you want to represent a club of this size with its history, that is the minimum standard you have to bring.
