Arsenal: Henrikh Mkhitaryan saying all the right things

Arsenal won big time when they offloaded Alexis Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Even if it isn’t perfect, it’s certainly getting better all the time.

Arsenal‘s creative attacking midfielders were supposed to be their calling card. The “Fab Four” was only in existence because Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were half of it. And yet neither of the two have been particularly spectacular, aside from Mkhitaryan’s twenty minutes of dominance against Chelsea, at least one of the two isn’t satisfied with where he is.

I will always struggle with Ozil and his choice of actions. His complete refusal to clarify his mystery illnesses, or speak to his own struggles, makes it really hard to believe he is striving to do anything about them.

Words aren’t everything, but when play on the pitch is faltering, sometimes a reassuring word or two can make a major difference and remind the fans that your head is in the game. That’s not too much to ask for, is it?

Henrikh Mkhitaryan doesn’t think so. Mkhitaryan spoke up about his goals pertaining to both himself and the club as a whole, tying them together in a neat little bow that just made me giddy. Here’s what he had to say:

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"“I’m doing my best every day, every hour and every minute to become even stronger. I always had my dreams, I always had my ambitions and I always wanted to chase them. I wanted to fulfil them because it was very important to me and my family.“I was working hard, I wasn’t taking a day off and I was always working hard on myself. Even if I was good at one thing, I was always trying to improve it even more. I think that’s it.”"

And that neat little bow I mentioned?

"“What we’re trying to do is to bring the Arsenal level back.”"

I simply love that line, because it acknowledges that what we have no isn’t good enough, it doesn’t skirt the blame. It hits the issue head on – this is not what the club is supposed to be doing. And, in the process, Mkhitaryan has assured us that his head is in the game. That this is his goal. These are words that certainly count for something.

Now we just need to see him back to his best on the pitch and everything will start feeling just a bit better.