It appears that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is currently in the middle of a tug of war between two managers.
On one side, he has Paulo Fonseca, the man in charge at AS Roma, making it very clear he wants the Armenia international to stay in Italy for the foreseeable future, while Mikel Arteta at Arsenal wouldn’t mind the player’s return to consolidate his own squad.
Gazzetta dello Sport, like they seem to do most weeks, have an article on the situation, explaining what the Italian club’s plans are for the 31-year-old going forward.
There are two options: one is for Mkhitaryan to renew his contract at Arsenal and then extend the loan in Rome or the other is simply for the Serie A side to buy him outright.
Each have their own pros and cons, and, as things stand, AS Roma would prefer the first one, especially since they currently are not in a position to qualify for next year’s Champions League.
That means he would have to take a considerably pay cut in his Arsenal renewal to fit those new rules, or the Gunners would have to agree to pay a chunk of his wages next season (which we doubt they’d be too happy about).
There is talk of Roma potentially making an exception in Mkhitaryan’s case, but for now, it’s all about trying to secure that loan extension, which is why they have reached out to Mino Raiola, the player’s agent.
It’s made the clear the ball is now in the 52-year-old’s court, who will try and ‘weave the web’ for the forward’s stay, with the Italians ‘entrusting themselves’ to him and hoping ‘he will return to the capital with a positive answer’.
