Mkhitaryan aiming for glory with Europa specialist Emery

Dom Farrell

Mkhitaryan aiming for glory with Europa specialist Emery image

Henrikh Mkhitaryan feels Unai Emery's Europa League pedigree will serve Arsenal well this season following Thursday's win over Vorskla.

Emery won the trophy in three consecutive seasons with Sevilla and his first game in Europe as the Gunners' head coach ended with a 4-2 victory against Ukrainian Premier League side Vorskla.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a goal in each half, with Mkhitaryan laying on his second and a header from Danny Welbeck before substitute Mesut Ozil got in on the act.

SIGN UP with DAZN to watch every Europa League match LIVE and ON DEMAND this season

Fine finishes from Vladimir Chesnakov and Vyacheslav Sharpar gave Vorskla late consolation in a match where they were resoundingly second-best after Aubameyang's 32nd-minute opener.

"He [Emery] has won this competition three times and it's very important for us, for Arsenal, because we're playing in this competition to win," Mkhitaryan told reporters.

"We're not just playing to participate. It's very important because if you win then you can get a spot for the Champions League, so we're trying to win every game and we will see where we get to."

Aubameyang enjoyed a restorative showing after only finding the net once during the first five Premier League games of the season, but the former Borussia Dortmund star was frustrated by his team-mates' late lapses.

"I think we played well in the first half and at the beginning of the second as well and we scored four goals," he told reporters, with Everton up next in the English top flight on Sunday.

"But we need to improve and fight to not concede goals like we did in the last few minutes."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.