Arsenal: Sorry Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but I’m with Unai Emery on this one

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has lashed out at his former Arsenal boss, but in this instance, I have to side with Unai Emery and not the Armenian.

As if there wasn’t enough noise at the club, Henrikh Mkhitaryan has now sounded off his displeasure at Unai Emery’s tactics during their shared time at Arsenal. The Armenian complained of being used as a winger, yet having to build with the defensive midfielders.

He went on to say that his freedom was hampered by Emery’s tactics, and that he didn’t enjoy sitting on the bench during matches, despite being promised a role on the team by both Emery and Raul Sanllehi.

On the one hand, we’ve heard all this before. Emery’s tactics have been widely criticized all season long and it’s no surprise to hear a disgruntled player speaking out about them as well.

That said, I have to come down harshly on Henrikh Mkhitaryan. He was used in a variety of positions under Unai Emery, not just on the wing, and in the end, his personal performance was rarely, if ever, good enough to merit prolonged use in a role that he would be more pleased with.

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Essentially, if Mkhitaryan had played better, maybe Emery would have pulled out more stops for him.

Mesut Ozil has had similar problems, but Ozil is facing the same kind of situation where he won’t be able to complain much when it’s all said and done. Because he is being used as his preferred No. 10 and he isn’t doing a whole lot with it. That’s the difference here. With both Ozil and Mkhitaryan, you do have to do what the manager asks, as Micky said, but when the opportunity comes to play the way you want to play—and it did (and does)—you have to take that opportunity.

If you have the quality to do so. Which Mkhitaryan didn’t always have. And maybe some of that comes down to him being frustrated in his role and thus mentally unprepared to excel in his preferred role when the situation arose, but again, that’s part of being a professional. If Ainsley Maitland-Niles can do it, I expect Mkhitaryan to be able to do it to. And so does Unai Emery.

I’m happy that Mkhitaryan has found joy at Roma, because I’ve always liked him, but I have to stand with Unai Emery on this one. There’s nothing wrong with benching ineffective players.