Football
James Olley, Senior Writer, ESPN FC 3y

Aubameyang issue resolved, but starting spot not guaranteed - Arteta

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has insisted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's disciplinary issue has been resolved but warned the striker he must earn his place back in the starting lineup.

The 31-year-old was dropped just hours before Sunday's north London derby win over Tottenham after reporting late to the club's London Colney training base.

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Club captain Aubameyang was left on the bench for the entire game and did not warm down with the other substitutes at full-time. His Ferrari could be heard reverberating around Emirates Stadium as he departed long before his teammates.

Arteta on Wednesday insisted the incident is now behind them.

"We talked, everything has been resolved in a really positive way," Arteta said. "So we move forward."

The Gunners face Olympaikos in Thursday night's Europa League last-16 second-leg home clash leading 3-1 from last week's first leg in Greece.

When asked whether Aubameyang would come straight into the team, Arteta said: "No, everybody has to obviously perform at the highest level to earn his place in the team and there is no exceptions there.

"We will try and put a really competitive team [out] to try and win the game."

Bukayo Saka faces a late fitness test on a hamstring injury to be available.

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