Unai Emery has praised Henrikh Mkhitaryan for his recent form after the Armenia international delivered another good performance in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with north London rivals Tottenham.

After making an exceptionally bright start to his Arsenal career by assisting three goals in his home debut, a 5-1 win over Everton last season, Mkhitaryan began to struggle, failing to make much of an impression during Arsene Wenger’s final few months at the club.

He has flitted in and out of the starting XI since the arrival of Emery — starting just nine of his 13 Premier League appearances prior to a foot injury in December — but has hit in some form in recent weeks and was among Arsenal’s best players in last week’s win over Bournemouth and draw with Tottenham.

Mkhitaryan was kept busy on Saturday, dropping deep to assist the defence as Spurs pushed for an equaliser, with Emery afterwards singling the midfielder out for praise.

“He he had a big performance in both boxes, defensively and offensively,” Emery said after the draw, which keeps Arsenal four points behind their north London rivals.

Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings Show all 37 1 /37 Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings Every Arsenal players 2018/19 campaign assessed following Wednesday's match against Bournemouth. Getty Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings =32. Takuma Asano - on loan Yet to score for struggling Hannover 96, who are fighting against relegation from the Bundesliga, in ten appearances for the club. EPA Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings =32. Calum Chambers - on loan Has enjoyed something of a resurgence at Fulham, where he has often been deployed as a midfielder. Still difficult to see how he has a future at Arsenal, however. Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings =32. Emiliano Martinez - on loan Has impressed for Reading when called upon. Likely to return to Arsenal in the summer when Petr Cech finally retires. Action Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings =32. David Ospina - on loan Was playing well for Napoli until the Italian club stopped playing him in order to avoid paying an additional fee to Arsenal. Will almost certainly leave the club this summer. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings =32. Emile Smith Rowe - on loan Scored three goals in just six appearances for Arsenal before leaving for RB Leipzig on loan in January. REUTERS Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 31. Mohamed Elneny - 5 Came close to leaving the club this winter. Never a first-team regular, has been so sporadically used by Emery. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 30. Charlie Gilmour - 5 Has made two cameos for the senior team. Was superb in February's U23 north London derby. Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 29. Denis Suárez - 5 Signed to much fanfare but is still waiting on his first Arsenal start. Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 28. Carl Jenkinson - 5 Impressed against Bournemouth but has made only two Premier League appearances this season. Behind Bellerin, Maitland-Niles and Lichtsteiner in the pecking order. Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 27. Zech Medley - 5 Restricted to just three appearances this term but recently handed a new contract extension. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 26. Julio Pleguezuelo - 5 Made his first start for the club against Blackpool. A hot prospect and has had several offers to return to Spain. Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 25. Bukayo Saka - 5 Made his first full home debut in their Europa League win over Qarabag. Has flourished for Freddie Ljungberg's Under-23s. REUTERS Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 24. Stephan Lichtsteiner - 5 A wise signing from Juventus but, at 35, is just too slow for the Premier League. Emery has preferred playing Maitland-Niles in Bellerin's absence. REUTERS Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 23. Shkodran Mustafi - 5 DOWN ONE. Has never truly convinced since his £35m arrival from Valencia in 2016. His decision making and positioning remain suspect. Not a long-term solution for Arsenal. AP Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 22. Petr Cech - 5 UP ONE. Started the season as Arsenal's number one before suffering a hamstring injury and losing his spot to Bernd Leno. Has been dependable in cup competitions. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 21. Mesut Özil - 5 Where to start? Arsenal's highest-paid player has struggled to even make the bench under Emery. But, as he showed against Southampton, can still turn on the class when he decides to. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 20. Eddie Nketiah - 5 Perhaps would have hoped to been more involved this season given his strong performances from the bench last term. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 19. Konstantinos Mavropanos - 6 Out until mid-December with a groin injury. Arsenal fans are clamouring for the 21-year-old to be handed his chance, but Emery is taking his time. Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 18. Joe Willock - 6 Scored his first goal for Arsenal against Vorskla, followed by a brace against Blackpool in the FA Cup. Progressing very well. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 17. Danny Welbeck - 6 Was playing well and scoring regularly before breaking his ankle against Sporting. Out for the rest of the season, when his current contract expires. PA Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 16. Laurent Koscielny - 6 DOWN TWO. Still getting back up to full speed after the Achilles injury which ended his 2017/18 season. Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 15. Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 6 UP ONE. So much more was expected from the Armenian when he signed from Manchester United. But has started to turn his form around with fine games against Southampton, Bournemouth and Spurs. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 14. Nacho Monreal - 6 UP ONE. Started the season as Emery's first choice left-back but injury saw Kolasinac snatch his chance. Has also filled in at centre-back. REUTERS Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 13. Aaron Ramsey - 7 Not his finest campaign but has been a consummate professional since signing on a free for Juventus. Action Images via Reuters Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 12. Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 7 DOWN ONE. Made a bright start to the season and has been handed an opportunity at right-back with Bellerin out injured. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 11. Rob Holding - 7 DOWN ONE. Was playing so well until he ruptured knee ligaments against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Out for the rest of the season. REUTERS Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 10. Bernd Leno - 7 UP TWO. Confessed only last week that he has struggled to adapt to the physicality of the Premier League. But has played well since replacing Cech early into the season and is still young. REUTERS Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 9. Héctor Bellerín - 7 DOWN ONE. Was truly flourishing under Emery until he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament on his left knee. Out for the rest of the season. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 8. Sead Kolašinac - 7 DOWN ONE. One of Arsenal's most reliable attacking outlets, with four assists already this season. But question marks remain defensively. Action Plus via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 7. Alex Iwobi - 7 DOWN ONE. Arsenal's most divisive player. But has become a crucial player under Emery and his end product is steadily improving. Keeping Suárez out of the team. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 6. Sokratis Papastathopoulos - 7 UP THREE. Has enjoyed a strong debut campaign. And playing alongside Mustafi has hardly made life easy for him. MOTM against Spurs in the north London derby. Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 5. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 8 DOWN ONE. Has scored 16 goals in 27 Premier League appearances, behind only Sergio Aguero and Moahmed Salah (both 17) in the race for this season's golden boots. Missed a crucial last-gasp penalty against Spurs. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 4. Matteo Guendouzi - 8 UP ONE. Could Arsenal have asked for much more from a teenager signed on the cheap from a recently relegated Ligue 1 side? Still very raw but has bags of potential. REUTERS Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 3. Granit Xhaka - 8 Enjoying a fine campaign. One of Arsenal's more divisive players but he is missed so much when injured. Liberated by the arrivals of Torreira and Guendouzi. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 2. Lucas Torreira - 8 What a signing. Was phenomenal at the start of the season. Has slowed a little in recent weeks but, at 23, has so much more to offer. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal 2018/19 squad power rankings 1. Alexandre Lacazette - 9 Arsenal's standout player, so far. Has developed a wonderful partnership with Aubameyang and is important going forward and at the back. 12 goals and 5 assists in the Premier League. REUTERS

“He has the quality to help us in our style to play. For example, usually he can’t play 90 minutes while being consistent with his work. And another player maybe cannot do that either, at such intensity.