Arsenal: Henrikh Mkhitaryan return feels like a cheat code

Arsenal were supposed to be without Henrikh Mkhitaryan for awhile. The fact that he may return against Atletico Madrid almost seems unfair.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I have spent the last week or so considering how Arsenal would be best suited going up against Atletico Madrid without the services of Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

After his ligament strain against CSKA Moscow, the initial reports of “out for the season” were proven to be a complete fabrication, with a more realistic estimate set to be up to a month. Which was still pretty detrimental given the impending semi-final against Atletico Madrid.

It had me considering Danny Welbeck, Alex Iwobi and what either might be able to bring to a gaping void that felt like it could be the undoing of the last chance the Gunners have at success.

And then Arsene Wenger came out and said that Mkhitaryan might be back for the first leg against the Spanish capital-dwellers.

I had considered that maybe, maybe we could hope for him to be back for that crucial second leg in Madrid, but to think that he could be there for both legs feels like a cheat code. It hasn’t happened yet, of course, but even the concept of an Arsenal player suffering what appeared to be a serious injury and seeing his return time whittled down from “the season” to “a month” to “next week” feels like some kind of sorcery.

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We are used to prolonged lay-offs, and injuries lasting far longer than initially forecasted. We are not used to what may be in the works with Mkhitaryan.

I don’t think I need to point out how big this is, but it may be the confidence boost that puts me over the top. Arsenal had a wonderful thing going with Mesut Ozil and Mkhitaryan sharing the creative load, as it allowed one or the other to spearhead, with the other operating more from the background.

In short, it was perfect.

Not having Mkhitaryan was stressful because it mean all eyes would be on Ozil, as it had been in the past.

Even if Mkhitaryan can’t start, and instead starts on the bench, having the option to rotate him in if things aren’t going well is an absolute epic boost. The likes of which we, as fans, have to feel damn good about. And by damn good, I mean “we’ve suffered enough, we deserve this.”

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Anyway, that was my exuberant blast. Now let’s hope it actually comes true and there aren’t any set-backs.

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