Henrikh Mkhitaryan suits Arsenal… a bit soft with a ‘nice lad’ mentality, says Stan Collymore

Stan Collymore has aimed a dig at new Arsenal signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan, branding the midfielder a “soft” and "weak” player who fits the bill at Emirates Stadium.

Former Manchester United star Mkhitaryan left Old Trafford on Monday evening as part of the swap deal which took Alexis Sanchez in the opposite direction.

The Armenia international signed a three-and-a-half year deal with the north London club, but football pundit Collymore mocked the move, questioning how the forward could be rewarded with a significantly larger salary after a disappointing 18 months at United.

“Henrikh Mkhitaryan has failed at Manchester United – yet he has been rewarded for that failure with a bigger, £200-a-week pay packet at Arsenal,” Collymore wrote in his Mirror column.

“Mind you, the Armenian fits the Gunners narrative and is a classic Arsenal player I suppose – a bit soft, a bit weak, with a ‘nice lad’ mentality.

“Mkhitaryan hasn’t been getting into a team that has been crying out for the kind of pace and invention he can offer when he is at his best because he hasn’t grasped the nettle.

“Instead, he has got himself somewhere where the expectation is rock bottom and that is Arsenal Football Club.”