%20rotate(-8.06)%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22336.19%20136.81%20330.16%2094.25%20326.06%2071.19%20326.44%2071.13%20335.22%2093.54%20352.29%20134.52%20373.95%20131.46%20362.7%2052.01%20350.02%2053.8%20356.05%2096.36%20360.15%20119.42%20359.77%20119.48%20350.99%2097.08%20333.91%2056.09%20312.25%2059.15%20323.51%20138.6%20336.19%20136.81%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22402.91%2059.3%20412.36%20126.02%20427.17%20123.92%20417.72%2057.21%20431.59%2055.24%20429.79%2042.51%20387.23%2048.53%20389.04%2061.27%20402.91%2059.3%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22463.51%20118.77%20458.69%2084.71%20474.68%2082.44%20479.51%20116.5%20494.36%20114.4%20483.11%2034.95%20468.26%2037.06%20472.96%2070.25%20456.96%2072.52%20452.26%2039.32%20437.4%2041.43%20448.65%20120.88%20463.51%20118.77%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22540.5%20107.87%20538.77%2095.68%20518.91%2098.49%20515.77%2076.29%20535.63%2073.47%20533.93%2061.5%20514.07%2064.32%20511.11%2043.42%20530.98%2040.61%20529.25%2028.42%20494.53%2033.34%20505.78%20112.78%20540.5%20107.87%22%2F%3E%0A%20%20%3Cpolygon%20class%3D%22cls-1%22%20points%3D%22299.03%20155.17%20301.29%20171.58%20542.78%20138.39%20540.5%20121.97%20299.03%20155.17%22%2F%3E%0A%3C%2Fsvg%3E)
Arsenal: Following Henrikh Mkhitaryan into the great unknown
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal took a chance on Henrikh Mkhitaryan and it mostly paid off, but what will he do with a full season? We literally have no idea.
No matter what anyone wants to say, Henrikh Mkhitaryan was set up as Arsenal‘s replacement for Alexis Sanchez. When you do a straight swap like they did, it’s impossible to avoid that immediate connection.
And that’s okay, because Mkhitaryan did quite well with it, notching two goals and four assists, which is better than that other guy did at Manchester United.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a talented dude, in case you haven’t noticed. I have posited the theory that he could replace Mesut Ozil and I still believe that he could, not that he needs to. He is a bit of an enigma, but so too is Ozil, so no loss there.
Related Story: Arsenal's End Of Season Player Rankings
The thing about Mkhitaryan is the sky is the limit. But the other thing is that the pit can get pretty deep too.
More from Pain in the Arsenal
- 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
- 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
- Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
- 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
- Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win
We saw both sides of Mkhitaryan last season – the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And we’ve seen both sides of him throughout his history. With Manchester United, he was the pits, but that almost entirely falls on the man in charge, Jose Mourinho.
Meanwhile, with Borussia Dortmund (the bigger sample size), he was the absolute bomb. From 19 goal contributions to 26 – that’s pretty special. Not only is it pretty special, but with the limited time he had at Arsenal, he flirted with the same production clips as he did back in Germany.
Hence my question – just what the hell is he going to do next year? It’s ridiculous to expect his Bundesliga form, but it’s ridiculously pessimistic to expect his Premier League form for United. We didn’t get a big enough sample size to see what his Premier League form for us looks like, so we are literally following this talented player into the great unknown that is the 2018/19 season.
And honestly, that’s pretty exciting. Because no matter what happens, the club will be just fine. Either he struggles and we stick someone else in or he explodes, Dortmund-style, and we bask in the glory that is.
Next: Arsenal Complete 2017/18 Player Ratings
Whatever the case, hopefully he can find some middle ground in that pesky land called ‘consistency’ because I’m not all about that “hit or miss life.” We already have too much of that on the team. Maybe Unai Emery can fix that too.
he could do anything.