Arsenal: Hypothetically, Henrikh Mkhitaryan injury could mean nothing

Arsenal’s win over CSKA Moscow had a ton of positives, but one glaring negative – Henrikh Mkhitaryan is injured. Does it really matter though?

Arsenal decimated a porous CSKA Moscow defense, and they did it with a diverse cast of characters. So much so that Henrikh Mkhitaryan was a tertiary character in it all, missing what few opportunities he had by fractions.

He was still a positive influence, but this was the Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey show, without a shadow of a doubt.

And then, at the hour mark, Mkhitaryan took a knee to his knee and is now down for the count. It doesn’t look positive, according to Arsene Wenger, which is troubling, but if it isn’t a season-ending injury, then is it really any trouble at all?

I’m keen to say that it’s absolutely not.

The Armenian was already ruled out against Southampton. Which is no big deal, because it’s Premier League action and the rotation will likely be in effect. Even if that wasn’t the plan, it should have been, so mission accomplished.

CSKA Moscow are back up next Thursday, April 12th, which Mkhitaryan may also be missing for. But then again, if we can’t defend a three goal lead, even in Russia, then it wasn’t just a missing Mkhitaryan that was the problem.

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Again, no harm no foul.

Arsenal will have to face Newcastle and West Ham, perhaps without Mkhitaryan, but again, those are Premier League fixtures. The Europa League doesn’t come back into the picture until the 26th, which is two and a half weeks from now. Given how little is known about the Mkhitaryan injury, it is perfectly believable to think that he could be back by that time.

Which would be perfect, because we play at Old Trafford the weekend after and I really want to see Mkhitaryan stick it to them.

Obviously best case scenario is that he’s back for the semi-finals. Everything in between doesn’t matter. Even if he’s not, as we saw against Moscow, this club didn’t even need him, so long as they are good and motivated.

I can’t think of anything that would motivate them more than the potential to get back into the Champions League and even if they have to do that without Mkhitaryan, they should be just fine.

Call me the optimist (as always) but I’m not worried about the Mkhitaryan injury. He will be back when he’s ready and we will do just fine in his absence. We proved that against Moscow, and that wasn’t the first time.

Next: Arsenal vs CSKA Moscow Player Ratings

Now, if he’s out for the season, well then we will have to have a different conversation.

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