EUROPA WARNING

Euro 2016 where they eventually lost to host nation France in the quarter-final .

On the way Arnason helped shackle Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane as Iceland drew with eventual winners Portugal in the group stages and memorably defeated England in the last 16.

However, a player with 60 caps for his country reckons it was much tougher facing unknown strikers with Rotherham in League Two down south than it was coping with some of football’s megastars.

He added: “If you can play well against those big players then you should be comfortable going in against the smaller ones. But it’s not always like that, as the hardest league I played in was League Two in England.

“It’s so random the sort of players you come up against down at that level as it is easier to face the best players.

“The sharpness of the top players is obviously at a different

KARI ARNASON level but the not so good ones can be more difficult to read what they will do.

“The lower you go the more random the decision making becomes so I had to try to read things differently.

“Hopefully, though, I can help the team as it’s not about my individual performances as long as I can contribute to good results in the Premiership and Europe.”

Arnason has only been back at Pittodrie for a few days and the only game he has played in so far was a run-out against Brechin City on Sunday when he scored in a 4-1 win. However, even the way they were set up for that friendly left him realising it is a much more impressive club under Mcinnes than the one he left behind in 2012.

He added:”it’s all top notch now in terms of the preparation for every game, even the one I played at Brechin.

“It is a lot more professional now and that is very helpful in terms of trying to get results in the league and Europe as well.

“When I left I knew that was Aberdeen’s chance to go for it as back then Rangers were in turmoil and they have taken that opportunity really well.

“I’ve always looked for Aberdeen’s results while I’ve been away and it is brilliant to see how well the club has been doing in the last few years.

“That obviously comes from the manager who is very composed and has real enthusiasm for the game which comes across strongly.” New Manchester City signing Benjamin Mendy is confident he is the right man to join the most expensively assembled defence in history.

The Monaco left-back’s arrival in a reported £49.4 million deal takes Pep Guardiola’s summer spending past £200m, with defensive acquisitions alone totalling £156m as Mendy joins Real Madrid’s Danilo and Tottenham’s Kyle Walker as back-four recruits, in addition to new goalkeeper Ederson, bought from Benfica.

That quartet join a unit which already includes John Stones (£47.5m), Nicolas Otemendi (£32m) and the now unwanted Eliaquim Mangala (£42m).

Guardiola has also recruited Mendy’s Monaco team-mate Bernardo Silva (£43.6m) to bolster his midfield options.

“I think I am the right person for the group. I am easily adaptable,” Mendy told mancity.com.

“There are some players with whom I exchanged a few emails, as I knew them from some years ago.

“I can bring a lot of creativity in the game, I can offer different solutions, I like to take to play as fullback and provide assists for the strikers.

“I am very proud of joining Manchester City, this is what I wanted from the very beginning.

“As soon as the championship was over, I talked to my family and it was all clear in my head, I wanted to join Manchester City. I’m really happy about it.”

“Since I was a kid it was a dream to play in the Premier League and I will do everything I can to enjoy every minute of it.”

Mendy has signed a fiveyear contract and will now join up with his new team-mates in the United States, where Guardiola and his squad are preparing for their second preseason tour game against Real Madrid in Los Angeles.

“In Pep Guardiola they [Manchester City] have a manager committed to playing attacking football,” Mendy added.

“I am sure that over the next few years we will be successful.”

“The top end in Cyprus is competitive and clubs like Apollon pay good money to get in good quality players”