London, Dec 14 (IANS): Premier League club Arsenal on Tuesday stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of the team captaincy following his latest disciplinary breach.

The striker, who was dropped for Saturday's 3-0 Premier League win over Southampton, will not be considered for Wednesday's game against West Ham.

"We expect all our players, particularly our captain, to work to the rules and standards we have all set and agreed," Arsenal said in a statement.

"We are fully focused on tomorrow's match," it added.

Earlier, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had said in an interview that the decision to leave out the striker was "unfortunately due to a disciplinary breach". However, he had not disclosed how Aubameyang broke the rules, but The Athletic reported that the footballer returned late from an authorised trip abroad.

"We have been very consistent, that we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club," said Arteta after the Southampton match.Whatever happens in the dressing room, I cannot share. From my side, I will never say what the breach was,'' the manager had said.

Notably, it is not the first time Arteta has dropped Aubameyang for disciplinary reasons. In March, the Gabon international also missed the win over rivals Tottenham for a "breach of pre-match protocol".

The 32-year old Aubameyang took over as Arsenal captain in November 2019 after midfielder Granit Xhaka was relieved of the job by then boss Unai Emery.

Aubameyang, who joined Arsenal from German side Borussia Dortmund in January 2018, has just four goals in 14 Premier League games this season, with the last coming in October against Aston Villa.