Roman Pavlyuchenko on Artur Gharibyan’s debut: “He has everything it takes to become a top striker”

Former Russia, Tottenham Hotspur and Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavlyuchenko spoke exclusively to Sportaran about Artur Garibyan after the forward scored on his Armenia debut.

“Garibyan has everything it takes to become a top striker. We’ve known each other for a long time. I showed him how to operate in the penalty area for a reason. If he keeps going like this, he’ll succeed. I’m happy for him and for the Armenia national team. We’ll keep working, and everything will work out for him,” Pavlyuchenko said.

Pavlyuchenko knows Garibyan’s game well: he worked as a strikers’ coach at Rodina-2, where the 20-year-old Armenian forward played. The debut goal therefore gave him reason to celebrate both for the national team and for a player he had coached personally.

Garibyan made his senior Armenia debut on September 25 in the Nations League match against Latvia. He came on as a substitute in the second half and scored in the 75th minute from a Zhirayr Shaghoyan pass. It was his first shot in his debut appearance for the national team.

Garibyan’s goal doubled Armenia’s lead and sealed the 2–0 win. Defender Georgiy Harutyunyan had scored in the first half, also registering his first goal for the national team.

This season, Garibyan is playing for Rodina’s first team and has scored two goals in the Russian Premier League, both in the 2–1 win over Zenit.

Artur began representing Armenia at youth level with the U17 team in 2022. He later played for the U19 and U21 teams before receiving his first senior call-up.