A.S Roma secured a season-long dry loan for winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Arsenal F.C in a surprising move on deadline day. With Arsenal acquiring one of the hottest names of the transfer window in Nicolas Pepe from Lille OSC the Armenian winger was deemed expendable for Unai Emery's side. Everything happened extremely quickly as there were no rumours of his arrival until the day before he was due to land for his medical in Rome.
Mkhitaryan arrives purely on a dry loan for a fixed €3 million with a possible €100,000 in bonuses and no option to buy for Roma.
Poor form in London
It's been a mixed bag since Mkhitaryan made the move to London in a swap with Alexis Sanchez and Manchester United. Struggling to make the desired impact to bring Arsenal back into the UEFA Champions League, his exorbitant salary and age played a factor in the need to move him on.
With Roma, he'll have a chance to start fresh again in a new league where the pace of the game will suit his more technical style. In his first interview with the club, he stated;
“It’s a great opportunity for me to begin a new chapter, with a great club. I know what this club is all about and I am sure we can achieve great things together. At the beginning they were just rumours, then things materialized – I thought about it and I decided to come to the Rome”.
It appears his style will appeal to new Roma manager Paulo Fonseca desire to implement a free-flowing possession-based side.
Mkhitaryan expressed his thoughts on playing for Roma and Fonseca saying;
“Scoring goals makes me feel good, but also helping the team do so with an assist, and more importantly winning – is important. We often hear that an assist is worth more than a goal. I look forward to working with Fonseca, I’ve seen his former sides and I liked them a lot, I hope he can pass on his ideas to Roma. I still haven’t talked to Fonseca and I don’t know his style or philosophy. I have high expectations, I think he can help the club a lot. I haven’t met my new teammates yet, but I’m sure they are ambitious and will give their best. But we will not be able to do our best without our fans, so we must remain united”
Injuries and Player Sales Create Opening
Diego Perotti appeared to have won over Fonseca over the summer and featured heavily during all of Roma's pre-season games, but the 31-year-old's injury history played a part in Mkhitaryan's arrival. Just before the start of the new season, Perotti went down with a strain in his left quadriceps muscle that will leave him out of the team for 45-60 days keeping him out of the crucial games to start the season for a team filled with youngsters and newcomers.
Having already sold Stephen El Shaarawy to Chinese Super League team Shanghai Shenhua the numbers on the wing were left desperately short. With only Justin Kluivert, 20, and Cenzig Under, 22, are the only recognized wingers left with some experience in the squad.
While he may not be a first 11 player for Arsenal anymore Mkhitaryan will more than likely be the automatic first-choice player for Roma on the left-wing in Fonseca's 4-2-3-1 system.
Roma are desperate for someone with his footballing intelligence, experience, and winning background. The team's movement and building in the final third often leave a lot to be desired, and Roma will be hoping Mkhitaryan creates instant chemistry with star striker Edin Dzeko to propel the team to a top-four finish this season they desperately need.