Do Arsenal Europa League hopes rest on Mkhitaryan injury news?

There were plenty of positives, from an Arsenal fan’s point of view, when the Gunners took on CSKA Moscow in the home leg of the Europa League quarter-finals this week, not least of which was the 4-1 result which barring a disaster in Russia next week will see Arsenal in the draw for the semi-finals.

The one big negative, however, was the sight of Henrikh Mkhitaryan having to be subbed off in the second half, indicating as he left the field of play that it was a groin problem that he had picked up. As reported by Metro, this problem could keep our Armenian international out of action for some time, with Arsene Wenger admitting that he was very concerned.

On Friday the manager said, ‘He has a scan this afternoon but his medial ligament is touched so he will not be available for Sunday.

‘He will not play. For how long he will be out we will know that after the scan.

‘But the first impression is not too positive today.

‘I fear [it could be several weeks] and I hope I’m wrong.’

Whikle he would prefer to have Mkhi available for the Premier League games, I do not think Le Prof is too worried about that, as the next three EPL games for Arsenal are against Southampton, Newcastle and West Ham and we also have Aubameyang able to play and a strong and fit squad of players.

It is the Europa League, which the Gabon striker is not allowed to playin, that surely concerns Wenger. We could really do with Mkhitaryan for those games, especially as he seems to produce his best on the European stage. The first leg of the semi-final comes in just under three weeks so there is a decent chance the Armenian could recover. Do you think that out cjhances of success could depend on whether he is fit to play or not?

Bob.

24 Comments

  1. Yup, we could be doomed if Mkhitaryan is injured for a long time. He is currently one the best assist/ goal creators in the team and I can’t imagine having the likes of Welbeck, Iwobi, Niles, Nelson, Ramsey, Ozil or Wilshere could replace him in the wing

    If he is gone for a while, Arsenal might have to change their style of play to utilize the pace of Maitland-Niles or Nelson. We could probably see Mo Salah 2.0 in one of these kids, if Wenger lets them play more in the first team matches

  2. It’s so depressing because it means more of Iwobi, and Welbeck! I really hope Miki’s back asap.

  3. Yeah agree guys.He has settled really well and gives us everything from wide positions that Walcott never ever done consistently if at all.Hope it’s not too serious as we will need him in the semi final

  4. Get well soon Mikhi….having Micki,Auba,Laca and Ozil is mouthwatering for next season…with or without Wenger.

      1. With all my heart and soul I DO trust you Phil. That means I can and will start attending games again next season. I do not expect immediate miracles from the new man with this defence WENGER HAS DUMPED UPON US. IT WILL TAKE TIME TO BIN THEM ALL, BAR MONREAL, WHO I WOULD KEEP.

        1. Pires,
          Agree with that forward line up for next season, mouthwatering!!!
          Three weeks for our medical team to work on Myk, so maybe he has a chance.
          Don’t forget folks, we still have an away leg to play, so don’t jump the gun.
          This news is a double whammy for me as I can’t make the game tomorrow, but I’m sure Wengers team will do the job.
          Please do not count my empty seat in any way as a protest, at least I can watch on T.V.

  5. Well I hope City v United will be better than Everton v Liverpool!
    I’m hoping that Sanchez will have a face like a smacked arse at the end of it ?

  6. considering our backups are Welbeck and Iwobi, yes it is a huge blow. He’s done really well in Europa and is starting to settle in. It should be fine for 2nd leg of QF, but having him out for Semis (if we make it), especially if we get Atleti, will be a blow.

  7. To be honest and REALISTIC,our chances of winning this comp are mightily slim and hinge on whether or not Atletico Madrid, the best of all teams still in , and by a distance, have the mother of all injury crises. Failing that unlikely scenario I see no way that ANYONE else has any real chance at all.

    1. anything can happen in finals. It’s definitely better if we only have a one off against them than two-legged affair, which we would very likely lose. They would obviously be favorites in finals as well, but I think our chances are better in that situation.

      1. Well, I agree that we have to hope to meet them in the final and I agree too that gives us a better chance than over two legs. But still very, very slim. OUR POROUS AND ROTTEN DEFENCE IS THE HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SIDES. Plus Auba can’t play, which probably means Iwobi. God help us. They don’t have Iwobi, Elneny, Xhaka, Welbeck and Bellerin low standard players. But we do. Realism!

  8. Yes we are in big trouble if he’s out for too long, with Auba missing it was a blow but the two of them out could be a knockout blow. We don’t have anyone other than himself that can step up if Ozil is marked out of the game. Iwobi is just too frustrating, his heart is not in it. Welbeck, well we know what we get and we know what’s lacking. Luck seems to be involved when winning sometimes, and injuries are cursed luck. Wilshere or Ramsey, I don’t particularly like either when they played there, and you wouldn’t want to move Ramsey with the form he’s in.

  9. Bob, of course he is a big miss but to suggest because one player is absent we haven’t got a chance is a rediculous ascersion. A huge blow yes but we have the resources to cover for him. Hoping to see Laca and Auba together tomorrow.

  10. Where is the bunch of people saying “ not problem,we have the mighty Wilshere on the scene”….can’t wait to see this guy gone at the end of the season,so the chant “ he has passion” comes to an end…

    1. I think his last two appearances for us have FINALLY tipped many of the undecided fans against him staying. Against CSKA our front and attacking players were great and mobile, with fast passing , great interchanging positional play BUT Jack stunk, to be totally honest. He will always try to run with the ball when there is a pass on and I do not see him ever changing , now. Sad but true. We should have got a fee for him , but that is down to Wenger letting his contract run down to nothing. We have several and need more players who will let the ball do the work, not run constantly into trouble, WALCOTT STYLE, as Jack so often does. And that is WHY he gets injured so often. Plus his stats for goals and assists are dismal and that is fact, not opinion!

  11. Of course not but it will be a huge dent in our chances

    Atletico are still the favorites with Greizmann, Costa, torres, Koke, Correa, Oblak, Godin, Gamiera, Niguez, Giminez

    Not have Aubameyang is bad enough but to lose Mkhitaryan is Huge. That basically leaves us with Ozil, Koscielny and Lacazette as our Top players and we will need the others Xhaka, Wilshere, Ramsey etc to play out of their heads.

    BUT Its a knock out tournament and anything can happen. It’s possible Atletico could be eliminated before we play them (highly doubtful)
    Teams without the best players have won it
    Feyenord, Zenit, Parma, CSKA, Porto have won this tournament
    Liverpool, Bucharest, Porto, Red Star Belgrade have won Champions league
    Greece won the European Championship

    So anything is possible. We are 1 out of 8 teams left
    But again Atletico has so many better players than we do.
    We were weaker before Mkhitaryan was injured

    I hope he will recover soon

  12. There has been a surprising lack of goals today in the Premier League

    I expect the Manchester derby to be as uneventful (well at least on the pitch anyway) as the Merseyside derby

  13. It will be a blessing for Iwobi as he gets more playing time to fight for his place I hope he make use of the opportunity. But I will be really sad to lose Mikki.

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