Arsenal loaned Henrikh Mkhitaryan out to Serie A outfit Roma and he is unlikely to return to the Emirates under Mikel Arteta.
Roma will have to make a substantially improved bid if they want to sign Henrikh Mkhitaryan on a permanent basis with Arsenal demanding £20 million for the seldom-seen Armenian, according to the Sun (11 February, page 54).
Two years ago, Arsenal and Manchester United joined forces to complete one of the most remarkable swap deals of the modern era. But, with the benefit of hindsight, the pair of Premier League giants probably wouldn’t have bothered.
While Alexis Sanchez will go down as one of the most expensive flops in Old Trafford history, former Bundesliga Player of the Year Mkhitaryan didn’t live up to expectations either in North London.
The former Dortmund star joined Roma on loan last summer and, despite starting just six Serie A games due to a series of injuries, Paolo Fonseca’s side are keen to snap him up on a permanent basis.
They will have to offer far more than £8.5 million, however. After rejecting an initial bid last month, The Sun reports that Arsenal are demanding a further £11.5 million.
Roma, understandably, are not exactly enamoured by the prospect of paying £20 million for a 31-year-old, increasingly injury-prone attacker with a £200,000-a-week contract.
A return to Arsenal doesn’t look like a genuine possibility either, however, with Reiss Nelson, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli all going from strength to strength under Mikel Arteta. The report makes it clear that Mkhitaryan has no future at the Emirates under a former Manchester City coach.
So the future of a once dazzling attacking talent could hardly be more uncertain right now.
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