Arsenal Update: Gabon Captain Set For Return, Bares Reason Behind Absence

Arsenal will get some reprieve soon with reports that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to rejoin the club.

The Gabon captain missed the last two matches of the Gunners against Southampton due to personal reasons.

Aubameyang finally cleared the air to explain his absence from Arsenal. On Twitter, the 31-year-old explained that he had to rush to his mother’s side since she was dealing with health issues.

The Gabon captain thanked everyone for reaching out and added that his mother is now fine.

He is set to return to Arsenal on Wednesday and will likely suit up on Saturday. The Gunners face Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.

“My mother is going through some health issues and I had to be there for her. She’s already much better now and I will be back home tonight. I’m more than grateful to the doctors and nurses helping her get through this, and of course, thanks to my Arsenal fam for the love yesterday! I’m more determined than ever to keep our momentum going,” Aubameyang tweeted.

This development should give Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta a bit of reprieve. The Gunners needed to find ways to make up for his absence and appeared to have been successful. In their last match against Southampton, Arsenal won 3-1.

It was a come-from-behind win for the Gunners who ended up securing three points on the road. Nicolas Pepe, Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette stood out for Arteta as Arsenal exacted revenge for their weekend FA Cup defeat to St Mary's.

With Aubameyang set to return, Arteta could have better stakes moving forward. The 31-year-old has not exactly performed to expectations although he did score twice against Newcastle before he left the club. He has scored only five goals so far in the English Premier League.

It will be interesting if the time off can add more fire in Aubameyang who sounded all pumped up heading into Saturday’s clash with the Red Devils.

Arsenal is currently ninth in the Premier League standings, tied with Chelsea with 30 points each but can move up if they start winning and accumulating more points.