Armenian national team captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a very talented winger/midfielder who relishes the new opportunity that he will have this season with AS Roma, out on loan from Arsenal. Mkhitaryan moved to the Italian capital on summer transfer window deadline day after seeing stints with two English big six teams not work out.
Acquired in the summer of 2016 from Borussia Dortmund, as the Jose Mourinho era at United began, Mkhi didn’t stay very long. He moved over to Arsenal as part of a swap deal for Alexis Sanchez in January of 2018.
Sanchez has also left for Serie A (Inter Milan), as things didn’t work out for him either.
He scored just 13 times in 63 appearances with United. Featuring 58 times with Arsenal, he registered just nine goals. Mkhitaryan revealed that he just wasn’t happy during his time in England, and that he lost his enjoyment for playing the game of football.
That does explain why the goals simply didn’t flow for him at Old Trafford, or the Emirates.
“I have to enjoy playing football, no matter the place. In England, I no longer felt happy,” he said at the unveiling press conference with his new team.
“I got a call from my agent and I wanted to come, because it was a great opportunity for me. I didn’t even have a discussion with my agent about money.”
“Maybe I was not fitting so well in English football, so I think a change was good.”
“The last month at Arsenal I was not happy, so that’s why I said it was better to come to Roma and to get happy and to get the pleasure from playing football again.”
As Mkhitaryan has made it absolutely clear, repeatedly, happiness was more important than money in his transfer.
And while the door is not shut completely on the prospect of his succeeding at Arsenal, he’s focused right now on a fresh start with the Giallorossi.
“Now I am in Rome and I focus on them. This is not a step backwards as great football is played here,” he continued.
“I wanted to change scenery and for me it is an opportunity to be seized.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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