Unai Emery needs time at Arsenal– Henrikh Mkhitaryan
The Armenian international scored his side's first league goal of the season in the London Derby against Chelsea.
Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has supported Gary Neville's claim regarding Unai Emery's philosophy at Arsenal. On Monday Night Football, the former Manchester United skipper disagreed with Jamie Carragher's statement that the former Sevilla coach needed to adapt his style to suit Premier League football.
The former Manchester United midfielder has defended his new manager, who has been under criticism for the Gunners' defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea.
He told Sky Sports, "Everyone has their own opinion. We know very well what we are playing for and how we have to play. If we are just going to kick the ball up front and wait for God to give us a chance to score, it's not necessary. The only thing we have to do is to work hard, believe in ourselves and use the chances we create to score goals."
The Armenian international scored Arsenal's first league goal of the season in the 3-2 defeat to Chelsea during Gameweek 2. Mkhitaryan added, "It was a pleasure to score and assist in a game against Chelsea. We're not happy with the result, but we know where we're going, what we're doing, what the coach is demanding from us and we're trying to do that. We can say we had a hard schedule having played Manchester City and Chelsea, but we had to face them now or later so it doesn't matter. We did our best, in one case we can say we were unlucky a bit, but that is football, it can happen."
He further said, "The most important thing is to stay positive, believe in ourselves and to keep working the same way and the result will come. We are creating chances. Maybe we are not as good to score at the moment, but I think it's just the first few games. We are going to try and realise them for the next games, maybe it can work, maybe it won't, but we are going to try and we want to win, that is the main thing."
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After the loss at Stamford Bridge, Emery became the first Arsenal gaffer to lose his first two games in-charge since Steven Burtenshaw. Burtenshaw lost his first three games during his caretaker spell in 1986.
The former Leganes midfielder took up the reins at the Emirates after the resignation of Arsene Wenger – who's 22-year tenure at the club came to an end this year.
Mkhitaryan has stated that he likes both of their philosophies. He said, "It's not too different. But, there are different things because there is not people playing in the same way or thinking in the same way, the philosophy is different. Emery kept the philosophy of Wenger, but is building something new on it."
[KH_RELATED_NEWS title="Related News"][/KH_RELATED_NEWS]"He knows he can give something different to this club, like the balance between attack and defense. It's not easy, but I think he's doing it in the right way. We have to keep working because we have a new manager, a new philosophy and want to play in a different way than before under Wenger."
He also said that it's not easy for players to implement the tactics of a new coach right from the start. He quipped, "We are trying to play football, our second goal against Chelsea we had 19 consecutive passes and then Alex [Iwobi] finished the attack and we scored. It's a new philosophy, we have to accept that and work hard to achieve our goals."
