After arriving in Perth with Internazionale, Mkhitaryan spoke about pre-season preparations and young players in an interview.

After the match against Manchester City, Internazionale flew to Perth to play against Milan and Juventus. Mkhitaryan was interviewed by Inter TV and local media.

Looking back at your long career, how do you feel about still performing at a high level today?

"This is my 20th season in my career, and I'm very happy about it. It means a lot to me, showing that perhaps I've done everything right in my football career to play for so long, and I'm very pleased."

You have many young players around you. How do you see your role in helping them grow, especially with more time together and facing challenges on this trip?

"At the beginning of this pre-season, more than half of the team were young players. I try to set an example for them, doing what I know well and showing them what's worth learning and drawing from. Of course, ultimately it's up to them whether they want to learn, but I will do my best for the team. Now I am the oldest player in the squad, which means I have to help. I try to do that on and off the field, giving them some advice. But ultimately, it's up to them. We are a team, a family, and we need to achieve our goals together."

Is this your first time in Australia?

"Yes, it's my first time in Australia, especially Perth. It's beautiful, I haven't seen much yet, but there's still time."

You've been traveling a lot, just played Manchester City in Hong Kong, and now you're facing Milan and Juventus. How important are these two strong opponents in the pre-season for the upcoming Serie A and Champions League seasons?

"This is a necessary path for us to prepare for the new season. We've already played Manchester City, and we have two more matches against Juventus and Milan. This is all part of the preparation. We will train hard, improve where we need to, and then play well in these two games. Of course, the result doesn't matter, these are just warm-up matches. But it would naturally be good to win these two games and then be ready for the new season."

As the reigning Serie A champions, do you feel pressure during preparation? Is it harder to defend the title because all teams are more motivated against you?

"At the moment, we are not thinking about defending the title; we just want to be well-prepared and prove that last season's victory was well-deserved. This will certainly give us great motivation and help us strive to do the same this year."

You had interactions with Australian talent Volpato during your time at Roma. Do you still remember him?

"Yes, I remember him. He came from the youth academy, and his talent impressed me. Later, I went to Internazionale, and he went to Sassuolo. He is very talented and a good player. He proved that at Sassuolo last season, scoring a few goals and helping the team achieve its goals."

Are you surprised by his subsequent development? After a long consideration, he chose to play for Australia and participated in the World Cup. He is a technical player not commonly produced in Australia. How difficult do you think it is for him to establish himself in Italy?

"It depends on him. He needs to carve his own path and create his own story. I can't say if it's difficult or easy; everything depends on him. I didn't watch many World Cup matches; I was on vacation and wanted to enjoy my time off, relax from football. You can't always watch games; sometimes you need to stop, clear your mind, recharge, and then start again."

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