Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Armenia scores his team's first goal during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between Armenia and Germany at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium on November 14, 2021 in Yerevan, . (Photo by Hrach Khachatryan/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Although Henrikh Mkhitaryan is no longer part of Armenia's armoury, Stephen Kenny has warned that successors are vying to fill the void in their first competitive campaign since their most famous player quit.
There was a sense of relief in March within Irish circles when the Roma attacker and national team skipper retired from the international scene ahead of the Nations League tilt. Among his 32 goals in 95 caps was a strike against Ireland at Aviva Stadium in 2011.
Replacing a talent of the ex-Manchester United and Arsenal player’s prowess will be impossible for their Spanish manager Joaquin Caparros but Kenny has pinpointed a couple of heirs determined to render Ireland as a scalp to showcase on Saturday.
“Josh Cullen has played against their striker Sargis Adamyan in the Belgian league,” said Kenny, assessing the strengths of the nation ranked 92nd in the world.
“He’s just won the league with Club Brugge but their best attacker is probably Tigran Barseghyan of Slovan Bratislava.
“Their midfielder Eduard Spertsyan is only 21 but last week won Player of The Year at his club in Russia, Krasnodar.
“Armenia have good attacking players but they also concede goals. When they get the first goal, they tend to do well. We just must get ourselves right; we’re on a good run of form so we want that to continue.” Fears for civil unrest in the Armenian capital have receded since Monday but a street protest has been scheduled for Friday. The Armenian football federation have been swift to assure the Irish delegation of their safety.
Meanwhile, Uefa have appointed Romanian officials to referee Saturday’s game at the Republican Stadium (KO 5pm local, 2pm Irish time). Thirty-nine-year-old Radu Marian Petrescu, who took charge of Ireland’s home Euro qualifier against Gibraltar in June 2019, will be assisted by Radu Adrian Stefan Ghinguleac and Mircea Mihail Grigoriu, with Iulian Dima acting as fourth official.