Former Arsenal defender Sokratis disagrees with Mikel Arteta’s decision to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona

Former defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos disagrees with Mikel Arteta’s decision to sell to .

Aubameyang spent four productive years at the Emirates following his £56m move from Borussia Dortmund, scoring 92 goals in 163 games and helping the Gunners win the FA Cup and reach the Europa League final.

But he began to be frozen out by Arteta earlier in the season and was after his ‘latest disciplinary breach’.

Aubameyang would not feature for the Gunners again and in January Arteta , where he has scored 10 goals in 14 appearances.

Sokratis expects the 32-year-old to continue to thrive at the Nou Camp and doesn’t believe Arteta’s decision to offload his former Arsenal teammate was the ‘correct one’.

He told : ‘Aubameyang is not the only one who left this way from Arsenal, other players also left like that; including myself.

‘That was the team’s choice, each footballer works for the team and has to respect that choice.

‘I don’t know and personally I don’t think it was the correct choice, the matter could have been resolved differently.

‘I’ve known Aubameyang for many years, I know what he can do as a footballer. I am certain of what he will do at Barcelona.

‘I wish him good luck and all the best. The same goes for Arsenal despite the way I also left. I wish them well.’

Sokratis knows only too well how it feels to be frozen out by Arteta, having been excluded from Arsenal’s Premier League and Europa League squads for the 2020-21 season before joining Olympiacos in January 2021.

‘[The way I left] was not the best, I was left out of the team,’ the 33-year-old added. ‘But it’s a matter I haven’t spoken about yet, I respected the manager’s choice. I spoke with him.

‘I am a professional, I worked for the club and love the club. I will definitely continue to be a friend and fan just like I am for all the other clubs I played for, such as Dortmund and [AC] Milan.’

Sokratis was speaking after Olympiacos’ charity match against Shakhtar Donetsk, which aimed to raise awareness and funds for Ukraine amid the ongoing invasion of Russia.

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