Henrikh Mkhitaryan Claims Arsenal are Moving in the Right Direction Despite Opening Defeats

Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan believes that the club can take positives from their opening day defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea, admitting that the north Londoners are working hard to find a balance between attack and defence.

One major criticism of Arsène Wenger's later years in charge at the Emirates was Arsenal's far from reliable style of defending - something which new manager Unai Emery has also been accused of.

GLYN KIRK/GettyImages

But January signing Mkhitaryan claims the Gunners are moving in the right direction, adding that the "results will come" if the players continue to work on Emery's philosophy.

"Emery kept the philosophy of Wenger but is building something new on it," Mkhitaryan told Sky Sports. "He knows he can give something different to this club, like the balance between attack and defence. It's not easy but I think he's doing it in the right way.

"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. The most important thing is to stay positive, believe in ourselves and to keep working the same way and the result will come."

Arsenal will be desperate to register their first win of the season when West Ham, who are also without a point this campaign, make the short trip across London on matchday three.

Individual errors proved to be Arsenal's biggest problem in attack at Stamford Bridge but the club weren't short of goalscoring opportunities. However, fans will demand a much-improved defensive performance against West Ham - whose only goal this season has come from the penalty spot.