Cast your minds back to January 2020, when Old Trafford was a very different place.
Manchester United had trudged off their own hallowed turf after a dismal 2-0 home defeat to Burnley. It was a result that left Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side flagging outside the Champions League places and only four points ahead of Mikel Arteta’s resurgent Arsenal.
A week later, Bruno Fernandes arrived from Sporting Lisbon and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.
To say Fernandes alone has converted United from also-rans into title dark horses would do the brilliance of Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay and co a disservice.
But there’s no doubting the transformative, almost Cantona-like, impact the Portugal international has made on and off the pitch in the north west.
After a record-equalling, Fernandes-inspired 9-0 thumping of Southampton last night, the horror show against Sean Dyche’s Burnley bulldogs feels like a long, long time ago.
The gap between United and Arsenal now stands at nine places and 13 points.
But while the rapid rise of the Red Devils coincided with Fernandes’ sand-shifting arrival, did Arsenal really tear up the contract of a man who could have been their answer to the Premier League’s most potent playmaker?
Since joining Roma on a free transfer last summer, Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been a man transformed, confidence coursing through the veins of a man who, after frustrating spells at Old Trafford and the Emirates, is once again showcasing the sparkling form that made him Bundesliga player of the year in 2016.
In 25 games, Mkhitaryan has produced a staggering 11 goals and ten assists.
“He is very important for us,” Roma director Tiago Pinto tells TMW, comparing his Armenian talisman to Manchester United’s tenacious midfielder.
“In Europe, (Mkhitaryan) is only behind Bruno Fernandes. He is also an excellent professional. In our project, he can be important for helping the young people.”
Roma legend Zbigniew Boniek adds via Ita Sports Press: “I trust a lot in Mkhitaryan, who is having an extraordinary season.”
Of course, context is required. Mkhitaryan’s form and self belief hit rock bottom in the final few months of the drawn-out Unai Emery era and, at times, looked like as much a busted flush as Willian does now.
But, given Arsenal have spent much of Arteta’s reign rapping tamely on the door without a Fernandes-esque presence capable of picking the lock, you have to wonder whether the Arsenal boss could have done to Mkhitaryan what he’s done to Granit Xhaka, Alexandre Lacazette and Rob Holding?
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