Serie A: Arsenal loanee Henrikh Mkhitaryan unworried by massive pay cut in deadline-day AS Roma move

Rome: Deadline-day signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan says he didn’t even think twice about a massive salary reduction before joining Roma in a loan deal from Arsenal.

Mkhitaryan says, “I got a call from my agent and I wanted to come, because it was a great opportunity for me. I didn’t even have a discussion with my agent about money.”

Speaking at Mkhitaryan’s presentation on Tuesday, Roma sporting director Gianluca Petrachi stressed that the attacking midfielder accepted reduced pay.

Mkhitaryan will reportedly earn 3 million euros ($3.3 million) this season with 1 million euros in potential bonuses — less than half of what he was making at Arsenal.

Mkhitaryan says dwindling playing time at Arsenal spurred the move: “Maybe I was not fitting so well in English football, so I think a change was good. … The last month at Arsenal I was not getting pleasure, so that’s why I said it was better to come to Roma and to get happy and to get the pleasure from playing football again.”