Mikel Arteta has hinted that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will return to the Arsenal squad when they face West Ham United on Wednesday.

The big news ahead of Arsenal’s match against Southampton at the weekend was that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wouldn’t be involved in the game.

Charles Watts initially broke the news of Aubameyang’s absence from training on Friday, and the likelihood he wouldn’t be involved on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta then confirmed Aubameyang had been left out for a disciplinary breach.

David Ornstein had more details, reporting that Aubameyang had agreed with the club on a personal trip away, but had breached that agreement by returning late.

This had a knock-on effect with the Covid-19 protocols currently in place, and led to the disciplinary action on Saturday.

Though Arteta stayed tight-lipped on Aubameyang’s situation in his post-match interviews, he did give one club on the length of the striker’s absence.

When asked if the club captain would be back for West Ham, Arteta nodded in response.

That was as much as the reporters were able to get out of him on the day, but it suggests Aubameyang’s punishment won’t be for the long term.

Fortunately, Arsenal didn’t particularly feel Aubameyang’s absence in the Southampton match either – scoring three goals in a comfortable win.