Is This Dortmund Star, The Last Piece Of The Puzzle For Arsenal?
Arsenal might have a chance of making it to the top of the Premier League table but even with the so called quality they have in the team, there is always the requirement to get better. Arsene Wenger has spent millions on getting Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to the side to increase their attacking output and it seems the French manager is set to make another big signing this summer.
While there are doubts about the futures of many players, Arsenal are looking at a number of big names and one such player who could do the job at the Emirates is Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Borussia Dortmund star has hit another gear this season and has been one of the best players in the Bundesliga under Thomas Tuchel but is he needed at Arsenal?
The Armenian Gunner?
Not many would have heard about the Armenian before he joined Dortmund but Liverpool were one of the sides that wanted to sign the attacking midfielder. The great thing about the now 27-year-old is his ability to play in a range of positions.
The Armenian has scored 15 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions for the German club. That tally can only be matched by Mesut Ozil who has provided 18 assists this season and no other Arsenal player comes into the fray with double digits in this stat.
Only Olivier Giroud has scored more goals than Mkhitaryan when it comes to league performances as the French striker has 12 goals in this campaign compared to Mkhitaryan’s 10 in the Bundesliga.
When it comes to making key passes in the league, Mkhitaryan actually comes behind an Arsenal star. Mesut Ozil provides 4.1 key passes per game on average while Henrikh comes in with 2.7; this is greater than the 2.1 provided by Alex Sanchez as well.
When it comes to passing accuracy Henrikh does not have the accuracy that many of the Arsenal players do. The Armenian has a pass accuracy of just 76% in the league while the likes of Sanchez and Ozil come in with 87% and 81%. Even Joel Campbell has a better pass completion rate of 78% compared to Mkhitaryan.
The Bundesliga star also does not match up when it comes to long balls per game with only 1.3 in the Bundesliga. This is lower than Ozil’s 1.4 and Sanchez’s 2.6, so Henrikh making that long ball to a Walcott or Iwobi is also out of the question.
The only positive that Henrikh could bring to Arsenal’s game is the goal scoring and that isn’t the problem with the midfield at the moment. Mkhitaryan could be a great player for Arsenal and a front three of the Borussia Dortmund star, Alexis Sanchez, and Mesut Ozil would certainly put fear into any team. Yes, he could be the missing piece of the Arsenal Puzzle.
With Giroud leading the line and these three behind them, Arsenal could win a lot of trophies next season, the only problem would be bringing the Bundesliga star to Arsenal, Wenger better take out his cheque book and fast.