Former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has penned an emotional goodbye to the club fans, a day after he joined Barcelona on free transfer.
In a post on Instagram, the Gabon international wrote that he felt hurt that he couldn’t say a ‘a real goodbye’ to the fans.
” To the Arsenal fans, Thank you for making London home for myself and my family for the past four years. We went through ups and downs together and your support meant everything to me.
‘Having the chance to win trophies and the honour of being the captain of this club is something I will forever keep in my heart.
“I have always been 100% focused and committed on doing everything I can for this club which is why leaving without a real goodbye hurts – but that is football.
“I’m sad I did not get the chance to help my teammates in the last few weeks, but I have nothing but respect for this club and truly wish all my guys and the fans all the best and many successful years in the future!
Aubameyang began his senior club career playing for Italian club AC Milan, but never appeared for the club as he went on a series of loan spells in France.
He moved to Saint-Étienne in 2011.
There, he won a Coupe de la Ligue title and joined Borussia Dortmund in 2013.
In Germany, Aubameyang finished as the league’s top goalscorer in the 2016–17 season and won a DFB-Pokal.
He also ranks as the club’s sixth highest all-time goalscorer.
In 2018, Aubameyang signed for Arsenal in a transfer worth £56 million (€60 million), making him the most expensive Gabonese player of all time.
With Arsenal, he won an FA Cup and the Community Shield.
He also finished as the league’s joint-top goalscorer in the 2018–19 season.
But in the last few months, Aubameyang was frozen out of the team and stripped of the club’s captaincy over disciplinary matters.
He was initially meant to be loaned to Barcelona till June, but in a move that suggested the club was finished with the Gabonese, they cancelled their contract with him.
This set him free to negotiate personal terms with Barcelona.
