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3 reasons Henrikh Mkhitaryan can get back to his best at Arsenal

| 24.01.2018
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

The playmaker’s style is well-suited to the Gunners

Arsenal and Manchester United are set to complete a deal to swap Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan any day now.

The Gunners may have lost arguably their best player to a rival, but he was prepared to leave on a free transfer this summer anyway.

Rather than lose him for nothing, they will bring in a potentially top-class replacement.

United never saw the best of Mkhitaryan, but he’s got the chance to get back to his best in North London.

The Coral News Team have looked at three reasons why the Armenia captain could shine for Arsenal…

Fluid football

There are legitimate questions over whether Mkhitaryan did enough with the chances he was given by Jose Mourinho.

But he wasn’t helped by United’s approach last season. Mourinho often played a solid midfield of four, with Mkhitaryan deployed in the number ten role behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

His job was to create chances and connect the midfield with the attack, but too often he was left without support.

That shouldn’t be the case at Arsenal, where the likes of Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere will be on the same wavelength.

At their best, Arsene Wenger’s side play an intricate attacking game that should suit the 29-year-old very well.

Different approach

The playmaker may also be better suited to Wenger’s style of management than Mourinho’s.

He was accused of “disappearing” in games by Mourinho in November. Some players would respond to such public criticism by raising their game. But it doesn’t seem to have worked in this case.

Mkhitaryan thrived under Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, who is known for having an especially warm relationship with his players. His relative failure at United suggests he may respond better to the carrot than the stick.

It takes something extraordinary for Arsene Wenger to criticise his players in public. If anything, there have been accusations that the environment at Arsenal is too laid back. But it could be ideal for their incoming midfielder.

Dortmund connection

As well as Mkhitaryan, Arsenal are also closing in on a deal for Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The duo were devastating together in Germany. Aubameyang’s speed was the perfect outlet for Mkhitaryan’s clever passes.

As they both know each other’s game already, Wenger will be hoping they can rekindle their on-field partnership instantly to help kick-start Arsenal’s season.

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Author

Daniel Anwar

Daniel has written about sport for Coral, Squawka, FourFourTwo and the Premier League, among others.