The majority of Arsenal transfer rumours in recent weeks, or at least those that were dealing with the Borussia Dortmund and Armenia international star Henrikh Mkhitaryan, were speaking in very positive tones about our chances of securing the services of the talented, dynamic and effective (23 goals last season) attacking midfielder.
This was mainly down to the increasing number of reports about the coveted 27-year old telling his current Bundesliga club that he wanted to leave and with just a year to run on his contract that meant that Dortmund had little choice but to sell. However this was before the rumours reported by the Daily Mail that some of Europe’s biggest hitters had joined the transfer tussle.
The report claims that our big spending Premier League rivals Manchester United and the Italian champions Juventus are prepared to fight Arsenal for this top player but I for one am not too worried and I will tell you why.
First of all is the fact that Mkhitaryan is known to have been a big fan of Arsene Wenger and Arsenal for a long time, as an interview reported on UEFA.com years ago makes crystal clear.
He said, “My favourite team is Arsenal.
“I like their attacking play and fast style. Moreover, Arsène Wenger puts faith in young players while demanding results at the same time. I like that and want to play there one day.”
Need I say more? Okay then, how about the fact that going to a club without Champions League would be a step down from Dortmund, so why go to United? Okay Juventus are champions and will be in pot 1 for the UCL draw next season but they are not in the Premier League and cannot meet our financial power thanks to the new TV deal.
Let’s go further and talk about playing opportunities, with the departure of Tomas Rosicky. the injury to Danny Welbeck and the struggles of Theo Walcott opening up a massive Mkhitaryan shaped gap in the Arsenal first team. The main plus point for Arsenal, though, seems to be that we are his favourite club and that he is a huge Wenger fan.
So is this top player set to snub this new reported transfer interest and sign for Arsenal this summer?
Bob