Henrikh Mkhitaryan is set to make his Arsenal debut tonight as the Gunners head to Swansea City. The Armenian has just moved over from Manchester United, part of a sensation swap deal for star forward Alexis Sanchez. As his big night looms, Mkhitaryan has seemingly taken a subtle swipe at his former manager Jose Mourinho.
It had been reported for some time that Mkhitaryan and Mourinho had some issues with one another, since the transfer swap was completed, the Armenian national team coach made some public remarks that essentially verified this narrative.
In the run-up to the Premier League fixture against the last place side, Mkhi told Arsenal Player that he’s now looking forward to an opportunity to “play offensive football” in north London. Given the reputation that Mourinho has for being extremely-defensive minded, and the fact that Mourinho has become synonymous with the term “park the bus,” these comments appear to be a dig at Mourinho.
“Of course it’s very important to have respect from your manager. I know that he’s demanding and he likes his players to explore,” Mkhitaryan said (transcript Daily Mirror)
“He was one of the [reasons] to join Arsenal as well because everyone knows he’s a great manager.”
“I’ve known him for a long time and of course it was not very difficult to make this decision to come to Arsenal, because I think the way that Arsenal play [make] it a dream for every player to come here and play offensive football.”
Whether Mkhitaryan meant to slam his former boss or not, he is no doubt is well aware of what Mourinho’s reputation is, and therefore, very cognizant of how his remarks would be interpreted.
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 corporation blogging community Chicago Now.
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