Henrikh Mkhitaryan didn’t took long to make an impact in Arsenal colors and established himself as integral part of Arsene Wenger’s squad as soon as he arrived in North London.
In the limited time he had with Arsenal last season, Mkhitaryan notched up couple of goals and four assists in eleven League appearances and was also crucial in Arsenal’s Europa League campaign.
The expectations are high from the Armenian and he is expected to be one of Unai Emery’s ‘untouchable‘ players. But it’s still blur over ‘How would Unai Emery use Mkhitaryan‘, considering the versatility of Henrikh there are many possibilities over his role.
Over The Flanks
Arsenal have probably completed their senior summer recruitment with arrival of Stephan Lichtensteiner, Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira. They haven’t recruited any wide player which suggests that Mkhitaryan could be deployed on the flanks.
Wide role perfectly fits Mkhitaryan’s quality. He can dribble past defenders and could easily generate something from nothing with those pitch perfect crosses and link-up play. Henrikh also likes to cut in from the flanks with explosive full backs running past him which gives him the freedom to take commands over the offensive side of the game.
Playing on the flanks complements him in multiple ways. Mkhitaryan is good at tracking back and serve a helping hand to defenders, something which he did with excellence last season. Mkhitaryan can also serve as a support to box-to-box midfielders like Aaron Ramsey. He could cover up the secondary role well while others are up ahead on attacks.
It’s All About Creativity
Mkhitaryan’s creativity have lowered Mesut Ozil’s workload to generate magical moments every time. Yes, playing Mkhitaryan and Ozil together means two No. 10’s complementing each other.
Arsenal have been highly dependent on Mesut Ozil since his arrival from Real Madrid. Though dependency was shared by Alexis Sanchez when he joined Arsenal in summer of 2014. With Lacazette, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan in the squad, Ozil may play with more freedom and less stress. And we all know Ozil playing as he wants to can get you a goal when he wants to.
Sit Back and Step Up
Arsene Wenger, in an interview when Mkhitaryan signed for Arsenal, regarded that Mkhitaryan can also play a deeper role in midfield. That does look unlikely with Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Mohamed Elneny at haul. Though if needed, Mkhitaryan could also feature as the middle man converting defence into attacks.
Where do you think Henrikh Mkhitaryan should play next season?
