Henrikh Mkhitaryan reveals what really happened when he swapped Manchester United for Arsenal
The Armenian has cleared up some of the confusion around the move
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Henrikh Mkhitaryan has insisted he was not part of the deal to take Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United.
Mkhitaryan moved to Arsenal in the January transfer window, with Sanchez moving in the opposite direction.
There has long been the assumption that the Armenian was included in the deal as a makeweight – but Mkhitaryan has refuted that suggestion and claimed he would have moved to Arsenal regardless.
“I didn’t’ come here to replace anyone. Everyone keeps saying that I’ve been part of a deal for Alexis Sanchez but it’s not true because he was running down his contract,” he told FourFourTwo.
“If he didn’t choose to come to Manchester United, he would have stayed at Arsenal until the summer.
“Everything was up to me. I’m not saying I was important in this aspect but I want everyone to understand I wasn’t made part of the deal for Alexis Sanchez.
"We’re different players, we’re different characters, we have different abilities and skills.
“When I heard I could swap Manchester United for Arsena, I said ‘yes I want to do that’.
“I wasn’t evening thinking twice or thinking that maybe I don’t have to go. I said ‘no I want to go. I want to have more playing time. I want to enjoy playing attacking, offensive football’. I made the right decision coming here.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal have been charged by the Football Association with "failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion" during Wednesday's defeat at Leicester.
The FA has charged the Gunners following their protests against the 75th-minute penalty Leicester were awarded during the Premier League match, which the Foxes won 3-1.
The spot-kick was given for a foul by Henrikh Mkhitaryan on Demarai Gray and Jamie Vardy scored it to put the hosts 2-1 up.
Arsenal have until 6pm on Wednesday to respond to the charge.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments