Arsenal Vs Everton: Burgeoning Mesut and Mkhitaryan relationship needs quick start

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is set to make his home debut as Arsenal host Everton on Saturday night. He and Mesut Ozil’s burgeoning relationship needs a quick start.

Arsenal have a new creative fulcrum. Ever since Alexis Sanchez arrived at the club and it was clear that he and Mesut Ozil shared some form of special, telepathic connection, the Gunners’ attacking play has always run through the pair.

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But, as has been somewhat inevitable for some time, the heart of this team was ripped in half with the departure of the Chilean in the January transfer window. A refusal to sign a new deal forced Arsene Wenger’s hand. A replacement needed to be found. Fortunately, he was able to find that replacement without any money ever having to change hands.

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Manchester United were not only keen pursuers of Sanchez but they possessed an unwanted talent that took the fancy of Wenger in Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The straight swap just made too much sense. And so it transpired. Mkhitaryan arrived in North London; Sanchez went the other way. As a result, Wenger now has some work to do to acclimate the Armenian with his new teammates, and with Ozil in particular.

Although he was signed over a week prior, Mkhitaryan was only able to make the bench against Swansea City in midweek. It was disappointing. There was a growing fervour and excitement to see a highly talented, if a little inconsistent and underachieving, player make his debut for the club. But Wenger has since said that he will certainly start as Everton come to the Emirates on Saturday evening.

That offers Mkhitaryan and Ozil to build a relationship that Arsenal need to burgeon. This is now the post-Sanchez era and Wenger must find a way to replicate the attacking creativity, threat and goalscoring ability without him. That is no easy task.

It is essential, then, that a player of Mkhitaryan’s natural ability, if not recent achievements, is placed in the position where the best of his skills are allowed to flourish. It is difficult to see where that position will be without a heavy dose of influence from Ozil. So far this season, everything had flown through his wonderfully creative mind. It will be up to Mkhitaryan to adapt to Ozil and spark that same relationship that Sanchez had with him.

This will be especially true for his movement off the ball. Mkhitaryan’s skills with the ball at his feet are undoubted. He is a lovely dribbler, his passing is rangy and accurate, his vision is creative and clear. But there are questions regarding both his defensive work rate in tracking the opposition into areas of the pitch that he does not want to be in and his willingness to make runs to for the player with the ball to have options to pass to and spaces to exploit.

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Sanchez and Ozil had a brilliant connection in regards to their collective and cohesive movement. They did not just have the skill to find the other with the right pass, but they had the willingness and the vision to know when and where to make a certain run. That is what Mkhitaryan and Mesut must develop, and they must do so quickly.