Arsenal might not have lost out on the whole Alexis Sanchez saga after all. The Chilean did not want to extend his contract and let’s be honest, there was nothing that could have been done about that.
Sanchez was asking for too much money and he was not 100% happy at the Emirates, just as he wasn’t happy with Barcelona or Juventus.
It is true that the Gunners have lost a good player and that Wenger could have accepted a deal earlier in the transfer window, but it is always hard to predict how these things will go. On the other hand, Arsenal are not losing Sanchez for free and have secured Manchester United’s Armenian captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan which isn’t a bad deal at all.
Arsenal immediately looked more settled last night vs Chelsea and that must be due to the departure of Alexis Sanchez to Man United and the addition of Henrikh Mkhitaryan who actually wants to be at the club unlike the Chilean who was becoming more and more of a distraction to Arsene Wenger’s players.
Wenger could not throw Mkhitaryan right into action in Arsenal’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg last night as the new Gunner was cup-tied. In the end they did not even need their new addition as the Gunners produced one of their best performances of the season to beat Chelsea 2-1 on aggregate thanks to a Rudiger own goal which cancelled out Hazard’s 7th minute strike and a 60th minute winner from Granit Xhaka. So Arsenal will face Manchester City, who beat Bristol City, in the Carabao Cup final in March and if you fancy betting on the final or any other football match you can check Williamhill.com for the very best odds.
The 28-year-old Mkhitaryan was under contract with United until 2020 but had not been getting the appreciation he deserved at Old Trafford which meant a major tipping point in Arsenal’s favor. He will likely be a team regular at the Emirates even with Wenger’s recent changes in formation and he has reportedly signed an improved three and a half year deal at Arsenal.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan can play as a number 10 or as a right or left midfielder – so he will be a versatile option for the Gunners. He will almost definitely be much happier at the Emirates as he had to deal with being sidelined for a big part of his first season with United as Jose Mourinho felt he needed to get up to speed with the Premier League while he ultimately played a big part in the EFL Cup and Europa League wins United achieved last season. This season however has seen the midfielder suffer a fall from favour and a massive hit to his confidence.
Joining Arsenal will be more comfortable for Mkhitaryan as he said a number of years ago that it was a dream of his to play for Arsenal one day and now his dream has come true.
The Armenian probably knows the likes of Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker from their days playing in the Bundesliga so Mkhitaryan should not have any problems fitting in plus Arsene Wenger wants him.