After the agent of Henrik Mkhitaryan admitted yesterday that the deal to take the Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez to Man United hinged on whether his client would agree to to move in the opposite direction, now we have had clarification from Arsene Wenger that the negotiations were still up in the air, but he agreed that he likes Mkhitaryan and the Armenian striker loves Arsenal. “Of course. If it’s a possibility it’s because I like the player.” Wenger said.
“We played against him many times when he was at Dortmund so he has appreciated the quality of our games, and the way we play football. So, that’s why he loves the club as well.”
Again Wenger was a bit more open on this transfer than us Arsenal fans are used to, and this is how Le Prof responded wwhen asked about Alexis going to Man United. “It can happen, and it can as well not happen. It’s at that stage.” he said.
“I work on transfers for 30 years, so it is likely to happen, but at any moment, any minute, things can break down. That’s how the transfer market is. So, as long as it’s not over the line, you have to accept that it can as well not happen. These things are not guaranteed.”
The boss was then asked if Mkhitaryan was set to be the Sanchez replacement he was looking for, and he said: “This would be an exchange of players, and one would replace the other. Are we still on the transfer market after that? Yes.”
So that is about as good as we have ever got from Wenger on any transfer dealings, but it looks like we could still be in for Aubameyang. Wenger refused to say a deal was close, but he wasn’t worried about the Gabonese international’s disciplinary record. “I have nothing to add to that,”
“This kind of things, it’s better when it’s secret and you don’t come out on it. Announce it, when it’s over the line..apart from the deal we just spoke about, Sanchez – Mkhitaryan, that could happen. Nothing else is close.”
Asked if the player would fit in, he added: “Yes, because character can be a very positive note and a very negative note.
“I believe overall, you look at the achievement of the player over his career and usually when the career has been very positive, the character has been used in a positive way.”
That shows that Wenger is open to the deal, but will he get it done?
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