Former Arsenal striker Tony Woodcock has urged manager Mikel Arteta to recall Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The ex-Gunners forward hit out at Aubameyang – who was stripped of the captaincy by Arteta – for 'disrespecting' the club's history and traditions.

Woodcock told The Sun: “Aubameyang is costing the club a lot of money, so to get a return on that he's got to score goals.

“That's the only way he can repay Arsenal for giving him this extended contract.

“I would like to think things might quieten down, and I would like to think he might learn from it and apologise.

“If that doesn't happen, you've got an unhappy player who is costing the club an absolute fortune.

“You'll then have people swimming around thinking they can get him for next to nothing, and the return on investment will be really poor.

“But he's 32… someone is not going to pay huge sums to buy him and then pay his big wages on top.

“Mikel Arteta has done the right thing, but you've got to see how it develops because you don't want to be throwing a load of money out the window.

“With what he has cost over the years, and what is owed to him over the length of his contract, the only way to get a return on Aubameyang is by him scoring lots of goals."