Arsenal Entering Dangerous Territory With Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Arsenal looked to be close to locking up Henrikh Mkhitaryan fairly easily, but nothing ever comes that easy. Now this transfer is getting dicey.

“My favourite team is Arsenal. I like their attacking play and fast style. Moreover, Arsène Wenger puts faith in young players while demanding results at the same time. I like that and want to play there one day.”

That is what Henrikh Mkhiraryan reportedly said back in 2009 at the ripe young age of 20 when most of that quote was still relevant.

However, shortly after issuing that statement, Mkhitaryan was signed by Shakhtar Donetsk and then, a mere two years later, by his current home, Borussia Dortmund. Arsenal never came into the picture.

Until recently. The 27 year old has been heavily linked to Arsenal for awhile now, but despite there being no interference from the Euros, there is still no news of the deal nearing completion. Rumors are spreading like wildfire, but it’s not like the Xhaka deal, where it was talked about and then completed.

To make matters even hairier, Arsenal now face competition. And it’s no easy competition.

Supposedly the vultures over at Manchester United (specifically Jose Mourinho) are looking to swoop up the Armenian attacker and you can bet that money will not be a problem for them.

Juventus, the Italian champions and resurgent powerhouse, are also in on Mkhitaryan and they have been known to pip players away from Arsenal on other occasions as well (Dybala, Khedira).

All we know about the Mkhitaryan rumor (still) is that he declined a contract extension and Mino Raiola said that they were exploring his options. He is not going to be at Dortmund for more than a year and in all likelihood, they will cash in on him this summer.

The price was once said to be no more than £20 but that has since been upped to £25m as more teams have jumped into the race. No harm, no foul. Mkhitaryan is absolutely worth the money.

I see Mkhitaryan like an Alexis signing. Arsenal didn’t necessarily need Alexis, as they already had Walcott, the Ox, Ramsey and Wilshere capable of playing wide. But adding Alexis removed the question marks that, by today, would have proven to be insurmountable.

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With Alexis in place, Arsenal is in a similar situation, just with more options. Walcott is supposedly moving back out wide with the Ox, Iwobi and Campbell all capable as well. But to add Mkhitaryan would remove the question marks.

He’s just 27 so he has several years in his prime to look forward to and, having contributed to 38 goals in all competitions for Dortmund this year, the production is plain to see.

My concern is not so much in the added competition from Juve and United. My concern is with Walcott being moved back out wide. It is being reported that Walcott held talks with Arsene Wenger, has no intention of leaving, and will move back into a wide position on the right in search of more play time.

Wenger is a man of fierce loyalty and it pains me to think that Walcott could be the culprit if Arsenal do indeed miss out on Mkhitaryan. He has done next to nothing with his time as a striker and even out wide, he is far from reliable. Surely Wenger knows that by now.

Putting the eggs that were meant for Mkhitaryan’s basket in Walcott’s flimsy basket instead is asking for trouble. Even if he doesn’t completely ruin the transfer, I fear that it could stall it enough to give other teams a leg up.

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Hopefully I am wrong. Mkhitaryan would round off this Arsenal attack beautifully. What does give me hope is remembering that even with Ospina and Szczesny, Wenger signed Cech. Even with a plethora of central midfield options, Wenger signed Xhaka. He is not wholly opposed to “unneeded” upgrades, they just have to be perfect. Mkhitaryan is just that.

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