Henrikh Mkhitaryan spoke to FourFourTwo and blamed Unai Emery’s tactics for his lack of goals at Arsenal.
The Armenian went out on loan to Serie A side AS Roma at the start of the season and has looked a different player there. Mkhitaryan scored one and assisted another in his three league starts there before injuring himself at the end of September.
His Premier League stint with Manchester United and Arsenal was fairly underwhelming. The 30-year-old directly contributed to just 22 goals in 59 games for us and he blamed Emery’s tactics for his downfall.
He said: “He paid more attention to tactics, so my role changed,” said Mkhitaryan. “I was starting as a winger, but had to build play with the defensive midfielder. It’s why I couldn’t contribute as many goals or assists. I like to play more freely and move wherever there’s space, but you have to do the job that the manager asks.”
Mkhitaryan’s complaints make sense but he didn’t quite do enough during his time at the Emirates. The former Dortmund man lost his confidence and made a meal of several good goal scoring opportunities.
Emery’s tactics are questionable too considering that Nicolas Pepe is struggling to find space in the final third. The Spaniard has to rethink his strategy in the coming months where further hiccups could cost him his job.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
