Arsenal: Even Henrikh Mkhitaryan returning is needed

Henrikh Mkhitaryan will return to training next week. Although his performances this season have been poor, even his return is needed at Arsenal.

I have been critical of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s performances this season. The midfielder has largely disappointed, with loose touches, a lack of creativity bar a couple of brief moments, and a severe absence of skill in dribbling and beating a defender. But even I have to concede that Arsenal have missed Mkhitaryan in recent weeks.

Find the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here – The 2018 Review

Suffering a broken metatarsal after a collision with Lucas Moura in the 2-0 defeat to Spurs in the EFL Cup quarter-final, Mkhitaryan has been unavailable for selection ever since, initially expected to miss six weeks of action and all of January.

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

However, it is now being reported that Arsenal expect the Armenian to return to training next week, just days prior to the FA Cup fourth-round contest against the midfielder’s former team, Manchester United — incidentally, he scored against them in a 2-1 loss at the end of last season. Even if Mkhitaryan is not ready for action by the time the Man. Utd game rolls around, however, his return to availability over the coming weeks and months is invaluable.

What has been noticeably absent from the Gunners’ play throughout the festive period has been an inability to both progress the play into advanced areas of the pitch and then be creative and inventive once in those attacking positions. Especially noticeable against West Ham United on Saturday, there was an utter lack of control and foundation in possession, with the midfield unable to move the play into dangerous parts of the pitch.

Mkhitaryan cannot consistently provide this. He is not consistent enough. But he does have a beneficial tendency to drift inside from his wide positions, take up spaces that are difficult for defences to track, and progress the play forwards. And when he is confident and playing with freedom, he does offer a little unpredictability to the attack.

These are characteristics that Arsenal’s play has been severely lacking in recent weeks. With no Mesut Ozil to take up the creative slack and a midfield that is looking increasingly leggy in deep areas, the attacking mantle rests on Alex Iwobi. The Nigerian has been one of the rare bright sparks during this period, but he is hardly a reliable presence.

More than anything, Mkhitaryan simply adds another attacking body. Unai Emery was turning to a soon-to-be-leaving Aaron Ramsey and 19-year-old Eddie Nketiah as his only attacking options on the bench at the weekend. Mkhitaryan would at least be another player who could potentially make something happen.

Even though I have been critical of him this season, I must admit that, at this point, Arsenal need Mkhitaryan. Unfortunately, though, that says more about the club’s incompetence than Mkhitaryan’s value.