For all of his goal-scoring talent, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has struggled to shake off the "rotten apple" tag that has followed him ever since his Borussia Dortmund exit in 2018.

The Gabon international joined Arsenal on deadline day four years ago and enjoyed some of the best moments of his career to date in a Gunners shirt. With that being said, his legacy at the Emirates has been tainted in the eyes of some sections of the Arsenal faithful for multiple reasons.

The first issue stems from the manner of his exit in north London. Aubameyang's relationship with boss Mikel Arteta, which at one stage seemed so strong, fell apart and the striker was exiled from the first-team fold for one "disciplinary breach" too many in the eyes of the Spaniard.

Forced to train alone and banished from match-day squads, Aubameyang's Arsenal career was eventually put out of its misery when he joined Barcelona after agreeing to terminate his Gunners contract.

The way in which he sealed that move, by fleeing to Catalonia without permission from Arteta or technical director Edu, played out for all to see during Arsenal's Amazon 'All or Nothing' series and it did not portray the forward in a particularly good light.

It was the kind of conduct befitting of someone who was once dubbed a "rotten apple" by former Germany international Matthias Sammer. Dortmund fans may have been left wondering why their Arsenal counterparts were so surprised.


However, many Gunners supporters could have potentially forgiven Aubameyang for the way his Arsenal career ended in time. That was until he burned the last remaining fragments of that bridge by leaving Barcelona to join London rivals Chelsea six months later.

On deadline day of the most recent summer transfer window, Aubameyang joined the likes of Ashley Cole, Cesc Fabregas and Olivier Giroud on the list of ex-Gunners to become a Blue.

His return to the capital and to the Premier League means Aubameyang will be reunited with his ex-Arsenal colleagues and come face-to-face with the man he fell out with so dramatically in Arteta.

This Sunday, Aubameyang's Chelsea welcome the Gunners to Stamford Bridge just weeks after a leaked video emerged showing the striker criticising Arteta's management style.

"Managing big players, big characters - he can't deal with it," the Gabon international claimed in the video before another person in the room interjected by suggesting Arteta doesn't have "good people skills."

Just 24 hours later, the 33-year-old tried to ease the situation by releasing a statement on Twitter that read: "Aware there is a video out that was recorded just after I arrived at Barca.

"At the time I still had a lot of bad feelings in me - Arsenal are doing great things this season and I wish all my old guys well, just not on November 6 [when Arsenal play Chelsea]. Now full focus on tomorrow."

Not to be taken for a fool, Arteta made sure he sent back a dig of his own, albeit a far more thinly-veiled one.

"People are free to discuss what they want," Arteta said when quizzed on the matter. However, it was his following remarks on the state of the Gunners' dressing room that felt particularly pointed.

"Phenomenal, I've never been in a better dressing room," he said. "More enjoyable, more hard-working, better relationship with the staff to players and it's an absolute pleasure as a coach to be part of this group."

One thing is for certain - expect a frosty reunion between the player and manager come Sunday afternoon in west London.