Henrikh Mkhitaryan has claimed he gives his all for Arsenal but wasn’t able to at his former club.
The Armenian international joined the club from Manchester United in January as part of a swap deal including Alexis Sanchez, and is already beginning to enjoy his football once again.
Mkhi spent much of the early part of the campaign on the Red Devils bench, with Jose Mourinho overlooking him for a large number of matches, and it is claimed that he was unable to give his best due to the defensive demands put on him by his manager.
Henrikh has now moved to admit that he can only give his best when in an offensive team, and even compared his previous stint under Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund to that of his current side.
“In the last year I played in Dortmund with [Jurgen] Klopp, Dortmund was playing very good football and I think it seems to be a bit similar comparing Arsenal to Dortmund,” Mkhitaryan said.
“I’m very happy to be here. I get pleasure playing offensive football and being part of Arsenal.
“Every offensive player wants to play offensive football. For me as well, I always love to play offensive football, it’s not easy to defend all the time.
“It’s necessary to do the best for the team, but in this case, when Arsenal are playing offensive football, I’m trying to give everything I can give to the team.”
Although the 29 year-old doesn’t mention United personally, it is a clear message for all to see, and he clearly is enjoying the freedom that our system allows, and hopefully we can start to see a better return from him over the remainder of the campaign.
Is a happy Mkhitaryan guaranteed to find form? Is a player’s happiness directly linked to their performance? Will Alexis regret his switch to United?
Pat J