Arsenal: Is Henrikh Mkhitaryan worth Aaron Ramsey loss?

Arsenal are allowing Aaron Ramsey to leave because they cannot afford his wages. They are also paying Henrikh Mkhitaryan approximately £200,000-a-week. Is the latter worth the loss of the former?

When Aaron Ramsey entered the final year of his contract, most had assumed that Arsenal would not be foolish enough to allow him to leave on a free at the end of the year. It was believed that they would have a plan in place to re-sign the Welshman to a new deal, and that they were confident in that plan working so they were happy for his contract to run into its final year.

Catch the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal podcast right here

How wrong we all were? Not only were Arsenal unable to sign Ramsey to a new deal, but it was because of their own lack of resource and not the motivations of Ramsey. Ramsey will leave north London at the end of the year because the club cannot afford his wages — quite why they could not figure that out in the summer, I will never know. It is that simple.

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

The problems came in January. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signed in a record-breaking deal, Mesut Ozil was offered a bumper, new £350,000-a-week contract, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan arrived in a swap for Alexis Sanchez, actually increasing the wage bill further with the Chilean still on his initial deal that he signed when he first arrived in 2014.

Of these three players, it is easy to see why Arsenal were so willing to shell out the big bucks for Ozil and Aubameyang. While there are strikes against both decisions, there are still reasons to argue that they were deals that must be completed. However, the same cannot be said for Mkhitaryan, and his performances since his January arrival have done little to suggest otherwise.

Now, I know that the situation is not as simple as a math equation, but it is frustrating that the Gunners are allowing Ramsey to leave when they are paying Mkhitaryan, a player of similar quality and position but not nearly the same production and value, approximately what Ramsey would be paid should he sign a new deal.

There are, obviously, far more factors that have gone into this decision than pure numbers. But that still does not negate the fact that Arsenal are paying a worse and less effective player what they could be playing another player. Whatever way you cut it, that is extremely poor squad management.

It begs the questions: Is Mkhitaryan worth the impending loss of Ramsey? He is a worse player, a less productive member of the squad, and he is older — Mkhitaryan, at 29, has little resale value and cannot be seen as a starting option for more than two years. In a straight choice, I cannot envisage many people choosing Mkhitaryan.

Unfortunately, this all means for nought. The damage is done. Ramsey will leave. Mkhitaryan will not. There is nothing that can change that. It only adds to the frustration of this whole debacle. With every passing day, it is becoming increasingly clear how stupid Arsenal really were.