Mikel Arteta says that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been left out of the squad for the game against Saints.
Arteta said that the reason for the exclusion of the player was due to a violation of the rules.
He's not involved today because we have certain non-negotiables in the team that we have set ourselves as a club.
It's not an easy situation and we don't want our club captain in it.
In the last outing for the club, the 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Toffees on Monday night, the late substitute was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Sky Sports' Gary Neville suggested that there was a problem between the pair, but Arteta denied it.
The captain came on in the 85th minute to score a late goal to extend his run without a goal to six games.
Arteta admitted that the barren spell in front of goal had affected the forward's confidence and that any decision was not personal.
"It's all about patches and moments and when you are in good form and hitting the goals, then trying to maintain it as long as possible while also trying to reduce the time when they aren't in good form."
By Nick Wright.
Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports that he wanted more from his team. The players aren't the only ones who are not performing well right now and that's what the manager offered after Monday's loss.
Arteta has lost three times in four games. Jamie Carragher said it was a worrying sign how they lost. This was the second game in a row in which the Gunners surrendered a lead.
Their 10-game winning streak has been lost at a time when rivals are winning. Two clubs who were in crisis as recently as a few weeks ago are now in seventh place.
It would be difficult to call the current situation a crisis. They are four points behind West Ham, who they face next week. They will still be challenging for the top four even if they win the next home game.
It is concerning that Arteta did not help himself with some of the decisions which contributed to their latest defeat.
