‘With Wenger, it was freedom’ and ‘Then there was Emery’ Mkhitaryan opens up on his struggles under the Spaniard

Mkhi details Emery struggles

Henrikh Mkhitaryan was a player that captured the attention of many football lovers during his time with Borussia Dortmund.

However, when he moved to Manchester United the Armenian international struggled to regain the composure and goal contribution output which had seen him blitz the Bundesliga.

A move to Arsenal saw a brief honeymoon period but when Arsene Wenger left and Unai Emery came in, Mkhitaryan’s Gunners career was destined to fizzle out. He explained why.

“With Wenger, it was freedom, the freedom to move, to play with the ball. He always wanted to play with the ball. He never wanted to defend because he was always saying if we score more goals than the opponent we’re going to win the game. It was a pleasing time. Unfortunately, after six months he was sacked,” he said.

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 02: Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on December 02, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Then the Armenian spoke about his time under the Frenchman’s successor Unai Emery.

Known for being more industrious and tactical in his approach, unsurprisingly, the culture shock was not a good one for Mkhitaryan.

“Then there was Emery,” Mkhitaryan explained. “So a different approach to football, a different philosophy. It was quite hard for me because I wasn’t playing a lot of the time.

“Most of the time I was sitting on the bench and I never like sitting on the bench because throughout my career I always wanted to play and win something. Emery saw football differently and was relying on other players.”

He now faces former club Manchester United and should his new side Roma overcome the tournament favourites he would setup a final with either Arsenal or former coach Emery. Talk about narrative.

Solskjaer clarifies Roma comments

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer risked the wrath of Roma fans when he said that he had not considered watching them once this season ahead of the semi-final in the Europa League against the Italian side.

“I don’t know them and I haven’t seen them play,” Solskjaer said when asked about the Rome-based club.

Manchester United’s Norwegian manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reacts during the English Premier League football match between Burnley and Manchester United at Turf Moor in Burnley, north west England on January 12, 2021. (Photo by Clive Brunskill / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by CLIVE BRUNSKILL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

He has since spoken ahead of Thursday’s game to clarify his comments.

“That was straight after the game and with all the games we’ve had I was just relieved we’d gone through. I’d watched them but hadn’t analysed and hadn’t seen them in depth to give them enough respect, probably. It’s a fantastic club with a great history,” Solskjaer explained.

“I’ve actually got two prized possessions back home [from when he played]: a Totti shirt and a De Rossi shirt that I’ve swapped with them and they’re actually signed, so I know about the history, I know about the quality.”

United host Roma before heading to the Italian capital to try and reach another Europa League final.

Roma have struggled this season and sit way off the Champions League chasing pack in 7th on 55 points. Whereas Manchester United have been the closest competitor to their city rivals but still 10 points off the top.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City FC	33	45	77
2	Manchester United FC	33	29	67
3	Leicester City FC	33	22	62
4	Chelsea FC	33	20	58
5	West Ham United FC	33	10	55
6	Liverpool FC	33	16	54
7	Tottenham Hotspur FC	33	18	53
8	Everton FC	32	4	52
9	Leeds United	33	0	47
10	Arsenal FC	33	7	46
11	Aston Villa FC	32	9	45
12	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	33	-13	41
13	Crystal Palace FC	32	-20	38
14	Burnley FC	33	-15	36
15	Southampton FC	32	-18	36
16	Newcastle United FC	33	-18	36
17	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	33	-6	34
18	Fulham FC	33	-18	27
19	West Bromwich Albion	33	-34	25
20	Sheffield United FC	33	-38	17

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Player	Team	Goals
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	21
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	20
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	16
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	15
Bamford, Patrick	Leeds United	14
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic	Everton FC	14
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	13
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	13
Watkins, Ollie	Aston Villa FC	12
Gundogan, Ilkay	Manchester City FC	12
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	10
Wilson, Callum	Newcastle United FC	10
Ings, Danny	Southampton FC	10
Wood, Chris	Burnley FC	10
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace FC	10
Iheanacho, Kelechi	Leicester City FC	10
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	9
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	9
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City FC	9
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City FC	9

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Maguire, Harry	Manchester United FC	0	10
Gallagher, Conor	West Bromwich Albion	0	9
Lundstram, John	Sheffield United FC	1	8
Bellerin, Hector	Arsenal FC	0	8
Milivojevic, Luka	Crystal Palace FC	1	7
Luiz, Douglas	Aston Villa FC	0	7
Holgate, Mason	Everton FC	0	8
Hayden, Isaac	Newcastle United FC	0	8
Soucek, Tomas	West Ham United FC	1	6
McGoldrick, David	Sheffield United FC	0	7
McGinn, John	Aston Villa FC	0	7
Shaw, Luke	Manchester United FC	0	7
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	0	7
Reid, Bobby	Fulham FC	0	7
Hojbjerg, Pierre	Tottenham Hotspur FC	0	7
Evans, Jonny	Leicester City FC	0	7
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	6
Alioski, Ezgjan	Leeds United	0	7
Kante, N`Golo	Chelsea FC	0	7
Andersen, Joachim	Fulham FC	1	6

Player	Team	Assists
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur FC	13
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United FC	11
Grealish, Jack	Aston Villa FC	10
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City FC	10
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur FC	9
Rashford, Marcus	Manchester United FC	8
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City FC	7
Cresswell, Aaron	West Ham United FC	7
Bamford, Patrick	Leeds United	6
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City FC	6
Pereira, Matheus	West Bromwich Albion	6
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	6
Ward-Prowse, James	Southampton FC	6
Harrison, Jack	Leeds United	6
Werner, Timo	Chelsea FC	6
Raphinha	Leeds United	6
Neto, Pedro	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	6
Gross, Pascal	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	6
Silva, Bernardo	Manchester City FC	6
McNeil, Dwight	Burnley FC	6