Henrikh Mkhitaryan 'loves' Arsenal, says Arsene Wenger, as club nears Alexis Sanchez swap deal

Arsene Wenger expects Henrikh Mkhitaryan to be an Arsenal player within the next 24 hours and said that the Armenian international already “loves” the club he is about to join.

Mkhitaryan will be part of the deal that will take Alexis Sanchez in the opposite direction, from the Emirates to Old Trafford, a transfer that Wenger confirmed at his Thursday morning press conference was “likely” to happen. Wenger has admired Mkhitaryan for years and tried to sign him from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 before he went to United instead.

Back when Mkhitaryan played for Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, he gave an interview in 2009 saying that Wenger’s Arsenal were his “favourite team”, that he liked their “attacking play and fast style” and that he would like to play for them one day. Nine years on, Mkhitaryan is on the brink of fulfilling that ambition, even though he had some reservations about making the move when it was first put to him last week.

But Wenger is delighted that he can now sign a player who has long wanted to play for the club, and said that the admiration was mutual.

“If it is a possibility, it is because I like the player,” Wenger said. “We played many times against him when he was at Dortmund. He certainly appreciated the quality of our game, and the way we play football. That is why certainly he loves the club as well.”

There have been negotiations all week over the terms of Mkhitaryan’s transfer to Arsenal, and a potential pay-off from United, but Wenger was confident all the major points have now been resolved. “The wages would not be a problem.”

While Mkhitaryan will arrive as a replacement for Sanchez, Wenger will stay in the transfer market, with a particular interest in Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bordeaux’s Malcom. Wenger did not want to be drawn on Aubameyang and said that it is less well-progressed than the Sanchez-Mkhitaryan swap.

“I have nothing to add to that,” Wenger said. “With these kind of things, it’s better when it’s secret and when you don’t come out on it. And you announce it when it’s over the line. Apart from the deal we just spoke about, Alexis and Mkhitaryan could happen, yes, but nothing else is close.”

Ultimately Aubameyang will cost close to €60m if Arsenal are to sign him, while Bordeaux want €50m for Malcom. Arsenal were in negotiations for Malcom all of last week, but Wenger did not sound confident today. “I don’t think we are close to doing that,” Wenger said.