Pain in the Arsenal
Oct 27 2018
Arsenal: Forgotten Henrikh Mkhitaryan digging his own grave
by Josh Sippie2 days ago Follow @sippenator101TWEETSHARExCOMMENT
Arsenal came out the big winners when they swapped Alexis for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, so why is the Armenian digging his own grave now?
Fans were over the moon when Arsenal managed to swap out a disgruntled and petulant Alexis Sanchez for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, whose exploits with Borussia Dortmund were enough to stave off any misgivings of how things were going in the dumpster fire at Manchester United.
And it paid dividends pretty early, with Mkhitaryan firing off to a quick start, exceeding Alexis’s production at his own new digs. When Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang arrived, it was serendipitous. The two had a fantastic rapport together and now it was going to come back, just across the English Channel.
Mkhitaryan rounded out the Fab Four that included Lacazette, Aubameyang and Ozil, all of whom figured to power this team into the new era.
Only that isn’t exactly how it’s worked out. Since the new season began, Mkhitaryan has had literally only 20 minutes of top-tier play, and that was in a brief 20 minute clip against Chelsea. Everything on either side of that 20 minutes has been unremarkable and, at times, even detrimental.
Leicester City was his first big chance since returning from injury and, despite the fluidity of the attack that centered on Mesut Ozil, Mkhitaryan wasn’t able to put together much and ended up making way before the hour mark, which is when things really started to get fun.
Still, against Leicester, Mkhitaryan could have given himself the boost he needed if he wouldn’t have scuffed a premium goal opportunity. So much of Mkhitaryan’s game, as with many others, is confidence, and he hasn’t had it this year. The injuries haven’t helped.
The problem for Mkhitaryan is that so many other players are stepping up in his stead. He is falling down the pecking order incredibly quickly, and it’s fathomable to think that he now sits behind Alex Iwobi, with Danny Welbeck also on the rise if the Armenian can’t sort himself out.
