Aubameyang not going to AFCON, tested positive for coronavirus

Gabon national team captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tested positive for the coronavirus just four days before Gabon’s first match at the Africa Cup of Nations. Gabon will thus lose its biggest offensive weapon. Along with Aubameyang, OGC Nice midfielder Mario Lemina and coach Anicet Yala also tested positive.

The Arsenal London striker is isolated along with an assistant coach and a teammate. The team’s head coach Patrice Neveu has let it be known that the trio are asymptomatic and are awaiting the results of PCR tests on Tuesday.

If the tests come out positive, the players and assistant coach will miss the first match of the championship in Group C against Comoros and almost certainly the second match against Ghana. Gabon will close the group on 18 January when they face Morocco.

According to the Daily Mail, Aubameyang and Lamina were spotted at a party in Dubai earlier this week, this irresponsibility of the Arsenal star and ex-Southampton star will cost Gabon a lot as these are the players the country had pinned its hopes on.

Moreover, Aubameyang has one foot on the exit of Arsenal due to discipline problems. The striker lost his captain’s armband after this outburst and Arsenal have put him on the transfer list.

The London big club is already actively looking for a replacement, which they should find in either Luka Jovic from Real Madrid, Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina or Dominic Calvert-Lewis from Everton.

Thirty-two-year-old Aubameyang, on the other hand, is rumoured to be a good investment for Newcastle United.

Source: BBC