Arsenal: Henrikh Mkhitaryan jailbreak already a raving success

Arsenal snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when they landed Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and it can only get better and better as time goes on.

Arsenal’s January transfer window was a busy one. In the span of that one month, when they normally land no one, they landed the epic Borussia Dortmund duo, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But it was Mkhitaryan that came first, and the Armenian alone probably would have made fans happy, even without the piled on glee that came shortly after.

Mkhitaryan came over as Alexis left, and it was, in a word, perfect. Everything about the move made perfect sense and, given Jose Mourinho’s tendency to destroy the creativity of creative-minded players like Mkhitaryan, the riches were there for the reaping.

Mkhitaryan was hit and miss, with a skewing towards hit, but it was never a doubt that he would catch on, and catch on immediately, which he did. The entire purpose of Mkhitaryan was to provide another creative outlet other than Mesut Ozil.

Now, we know even more why he was able to catch on so quickly – because he legitimately wanted to be here to allow his creativity to flow.

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By Mkhitaryan’s own admission, an admission that I can’t hear enough, his time at United was marred by their play-style. And while he refused to “throw punches,” he might as well have been, because the writing was there on the wall.

The Gunners are a haven of creativity and beautiful football. Mourinho’s United isn’t. So for Mkhitaryan and the tremendous talent that he is/can be, this was like a jailbreak. He was escaping the captivity of a deadening system and coming to a team where he was allowed to be himself. Yes, we have our flaws at the Emirates, but that sure beats being turned into a lifeless robot.

So how do we judge his transfer thus far, after just six months? It can’t be judged as anything other than a raving success. He outperformed the Chilean that took his unenviable place at Old Trafford, and that is success enough.

But now pairing him with Aubameyang in a system that will truly allow him to flourish, well, watch out.

The world is an oyster for the Armenian, and this season, we will see him at his absolute best. And it’s all thanks to the jailbreak that we sprung for him.