It is a common occurrence for players to reveal why they left a club and the reasons it did not work and almost never do they accept that it was their own performances why they were then moved on and Henrikh Mkhitaryan is no different.
The Armenian international has been speaking at his official unveiling as a Roma player following his loan move out of Arsenal and obviously he was positive about the Italian giants and gave an explanation as to why it did not work out for him in England.
“Now I am in Rome and I focus on them, Mkhitaryan told reporters
“This is not a step backwards as a great football is played here. I wanted to change scenery and for me it is an opportunity to be seized.
“I have to enjoy playing football, no matter the place. In England, I no longer felt this pleasure.
“The messages after the two national matches made me happy, but now I have to concentrate on Rome.
“I will never give up and I will fight to the end. I’m not afraid of pressure, I’m used to it having already played with great teams.
“I know that the slightest mistake is criticised while a good performance is exalted. If you agree to play soccer you must be ready to face criticism.
“Serie A is a great opportunity, I accepted immediately with enthusiasm. We didn’t even talk about money.”
So, the 30-year-old was basically unhappy at Arsenal, maybe the £180k per week he was being paid for below performances was not enough, maybe he needed a cuddle or a therapist, who knows.
These footballers never admit the truth, they will dig up excuses anywhere they can find them but if we are being brutally honest here, Mkhitaryan stole a living at Arsenal, he was very mediocre and that is the reason why he was loaned out.
If he put in decent consistent performances commensurate with his huge wages then the club would never have thought of offloading him but he did not, he was woeful for the vast majority of the time but in the pampered world of underperforming multi-millionaire footballers, it is never their fault.