Mikel Arteta says “several players” were holding Arsenal back when discussing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s exit earlier this year.
Aubameyang spent just over a year under Arteta at Arsenal during which time the team won the FA Cup.
But the forward’s final months with the Gunners turned sour after Arteta stripped him of his captaincy after a series of disciplinary issues.
According to Metro UK, Arsenal terminated Aubameyang’s £350,000-a-week contract in February, which paved the way for a move to Barcelona.
But Arteta insisted Aubameyang was not the only player he felt was slowing down Arsenal’s progression.
Asked about the decision to offload Aubameyang, Arteta told Sky Sports: “First of all I didn’t make that decision, we made that decision as a club.
“Obviously my recommendation and what I think we need to do to get to where we want to be.
“But I would not like to single out a player. I think it was with several players.
“It was part of the strategy we’re trying to build.
“Ultimately, when you’re in that process and you want to go faster, there are people holding that boat [back] and putting weight.
“I’m sorry, but we want to go even faster and there is no time, be it a player or an employee, for someone who damages the club and we took that decision.”
Arteta also says Arsenal are ahead of the five-phase plan he laid out when he was appointed in December 2019.
“The important ones are my wife and my family, then when you really open up, you open up your feelings and say exactly how you feel,” Arteta said.
“Then, I think the coaches are critical, you can really sense what’s going on, how they feel, how they’ve helped you.
“The third is to have a club behind us that understands the situation and what it will take to move from where we are here to there.
“The good thing is that I had a very clear plan, I set a plan for the club with five different phases, where we compare ourselves to the other teams.
“Everything we have to play in every timeline and phase.”
Asked if Arsenal are ahead behind their current plan, Arteta smiled and replied: “We are ahead.”
