Arsenal winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan continues to throw shade at his former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. Since he moved from Old Trafford to the Emirates this past transfer window, as part of the Alexis Sanchez swap deal, the Armenian has described the style he gets to play in now in north London as more attacking football; which is a slam at Mourinho for being too pragmatic.
Now Mkhitaryan has said his new manager (and Mourinho arch-nemesis), Arsene Wenger, is much more of a players coach than his former boss at United.
In an interview with SFR Sport, Mkhitaryan said:
“Mourinho required a lot from the players. A lot, he was very hard. Arsene Wenger is friendlier, he understands, can think about players’ situations, is calmer. That’s the difference.”
Mkhitaryan joined United in July of 2016 on a four-year contract for a transfer fee reported variously as between £27 million and £30 million. He became the first Armenian to ever join the club and later the first to win a major European trophy. All in all, he still had a very up and down season, but he did score one of the two goals in United’s 2-0 win over Ajax in the Europa League Final.
The former BVB man got off to a really fast start this season, racking up the assists, but his form dipped and he was soon dropped from the starting line-up after United’s 4–1 victory over Newcastle United. When he said goodbye to United, it was reportedly very emotional, with the player shedding some tears.
Mkhitaryan has a positive impression of his time at United, and he believes he accomplished a lot there. He is defensive against anybody who thinks otherwise.
“I think I left an impression in Manchester, although I had difficulties,” Mkhitaryan continued. “We won three trophies in a year and a half, it’s not every club that does that.
“We won the Europa League final, I scored a goal. If people say that I have not had enough success it is their opinion, but I can say that I had a lot of success at the club.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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