Subtlety isn’t exactly Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s strong point.
It comes as no surprise that Mkhitaryan was relieved when he was offered a way out of Manchester United in January.
The Armenia international was forced to settle for a bit-part role in his final few months at Old Trafford before he was finally told that he could take his talents to Arsenal.
As part of the deal which saw Alexis Sanchez move to the Red Devils, Mkhitaryan went in the opposite direction.
And on several occasions since that January switch, Mkhitaryan has taken veiled digs at the footballing philosophy of now-former manager Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho has a reputation for setting up his teams in a defensive manner and Mkhitaryan suggested that he struggled during his spell at United because he was not afforded the creative freedom that he now has under Arsene Wenger.
But the subtle shots have grown more and more obvious as Mkhitaryan settles in at the Emirates and his most recent interview has seen the 29-year-old go all-in on Mourinho.
“When I heard I could swap Man United for Arsenal, I said, ‘Yes, I want to do that’, I didn’t think twice,” Mkhitaryan said in FourFourTwo magazine.
“It’s important for me to play in an offensive team. I couldn’t have imagined a better start. I’d missed playing offensively.
“I joined Arsenal because Wenger wanted me, not because he wanted to replace Sanchez. We are different players and characters, with different abilities and skills, so I’ll try my best to do everything for the club.”
Mkhitaryan has flourished since moving to the Gunners, scoring two goals and registering five assists in just 11 games for his new side.
