Arnason so glad to reject his seasons in the sun
● Pull of Aberdeen return too much to resist as Icelander eyes cup tie in Cyprus
Kari Arnason was so determined to escape the football backwater of Cyprus for a return to a higher-profile, higher-pressure life at Aberdeen that he was happy to take a financial hit to make it happen.
The versatile Iceland international played just eight games for Omonia Nicosia but that was long enough to know he had to do what was necessary to push through the move when manager Derek Mcinnes, pictured, made his interest known.
It may have ended up costing him money in the short term but Arnason clearly feels it is a price worth paying for a second chance at success at a club he last played for five years ago under Craig Brown.
Not that he has made an entirely clean break, though, as his first two competitive games on rejoining Aberdeen will be against Apollon Limassol in the third round of Europa League qualification.
Arnason may have been desperate to leave the sunshine island after just six months, but that does not mean he anticipates an easy time against their Cypriot opponents when the tie gets underway at Pittodrie on Thursday.
“It was an easy decision for me to come back even though it wasn’t easy to get out of where I was” he claimed. “It was a difficult situation as the club I was at didn’t want to let me go, but as soon as I heard Aberdeen were interested I wanted to make the move.
“I just told them that straight up from the get-go and I had to make a few sacrifices to get here, but I’m very happy.
“It is worth it for the chance to play in a very good team in a very competitive league with some massive games, starting with the European one this week.
“Apollon are one of six teams that are decent over in Cyprus and the rest you should beat every time you play them.
“They are a very good team, going forward especially as they have pace and they have good movement up front. “If you press Apollon high it’s critical that you don’t sell yourself doing it because they are technical players and they will go past you if you do that. “The top end in Cyprus is competitive and clubs like Apollon pay good money so they get in good quality players.
“That means it won’t be easy as they are a good team and we have to respect that but still we have a very good chance to get through.”
Arnason has made a major impact in European football at international level with Iceland since leaving Aberdeen for Rotherham United in the summer of 2012.
He was in the Iceland side that delighted everyone except the English during the finals of