Following a disciplinary breach last week, Arsenal has stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of his captaincy.
Arsenal confirmed their decision to remove Aubameyang as captain on Tuesday, after he was left out of the squad for Saturday's match against Southampton.
Aubameyang will also be unavailable for Wednesday's match against West Ham, according to the club.
"We expect all of our players, especially our captain, to follow the rules and standards that we have all established and agreed upon," the club said in a statement.
"We're completely focused on the match tomorrow."
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's head coach, said the "painful" decision was made to "protect the football club's interests."
The Spaniard confirmed that he and senior club officials had spoken with Aubameyang face to face to inform him of their decision.
During his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Arteta said, "I think it's a really clear statement from the club." "It's a decision we've made in the aftermath of the last incident with the player, and this is where we stand."
"When we have to make that decision, it's obviously because it's the best way to protect the football club's interests."
We need some time to process everything because it's been a lot to take in and a really difficult decision to make.
"We made the decision we did because it was really hurting, and it's still hurting, and it needs a little bit of time to heal, so he's not in the squad right now."
Arteta hinted that there would be no rush to name a permanent replacement for Aubameyang as captain, with members of the club's "leadership group" expected to share the role in the coming weeks.
Perhaps he'll go with Kieran Tierney, whom he described earlier this year as a "natural leader" and a potential future captain, but is the left-back, still only 24, ready for the armband after being in and out of the team this season?
Tierney has been at the club longer than others of his age group, but Arteta could also hand it over to one of his summer signings. He has praised Aaron Ramsdale's leadership abilities on numerous occasions, and he has also praised Ben White and Martin Odegaard. Another possibility is Gabriel Magalhaes, who arrived a year earlier.
If that fails, he could imitate his mentor's
Arsene Wenger did when he gave the captaincy to a 21-year-old Cesc Fabregas, and hand the armband to someone like Bukayo Saka. That, though, is very much an outside possibility
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