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Henrikh Mkhitaryan baffled by needless criticisms of Arsenal

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is baffled by the needless criticisms which have recently come Arsenal’s way and is insistent that he and his teammates will fight tooth and nail to improve upon their Premier League performances whilst adapting to Unai Emery’s rigorous regime.

The Gunners are 17th in the standings after two consecutive losses against Manchester City and Chelsea and the squad has subsequently been exposed to a vast amount of negative judgement, although the Armenian international believes that the damning assessments are somewhat premature, and that everyone in the collective is striving to move in the right direction after what’s been a particularly testing schedule thus far.

Speaking to BBC’s Football Focus, the intricate playmaker began by stating that there’s simply no need for the fold’s performances to be a scrutinised and dissected by outside parties, as he’s ultimately bold and humble enough to recognise his own shortcomings without being dumped under the microscope.

“I’m the worst critic in my football game and I don’t need extra criticism,” he said.

“I know very well what I am giving to the team and what the team gives me.”

Mkhitaryan, 29, scored against the Blues at Stamford Bridge, however his spurring efforts weren’t enough to save the north-Londoners from a frustrating 3-2 defeat. Emery, who succeeded Arsene Wenger in May, trusts the former Manchester United star as a predominant figure in the set-up, but ‘Micki’ understands that the Spaniard’s vibrant philosophy will take time to acclimatise to, although once all are on board with his expectations, rewards will undoubtedly follow.

“We have a new manager and are trying to adapt to his philosophy and also his demands,” he added.

“It has been a tough start of course – we faced two good teams in Man City and Chelsea – but you don’t have any easy opponents in this league.

“We lost the first game and the second one as well. But that’s football. We just have to stay positive and continue working hard and the good results will come.

“We don’t feel any pressure. We are not thinking that something is going wrong because we are moving in the right way even if we lost two games.

“I don’t know why people are criticising so much. I’m not paying attention because I know if I’ve played bad or well.”

Redemption will certainly be top of Arsenal’s agenda, and Emery’s men will have a plausible shot at it on Saturday when they face fellow domestic stragglers West Ham United at the Emirates.

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