Arsenal’s star midfielder could be out for the rest of the season, Wenger confirms

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has played a vital role for Arsenal since joining from Manchester United as part of the Alexis deal.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan walked off injured against CSKA Moscow in the first leg of the Europa league quarter final tie. Initially, it could not be confirmed exactly what the injury was. But it became known after manager, Arsene Wenger, spoke to the club’s official website after the thrilling 3-2 victory against Southampton on Sunday.

He said:

"“He’s (Mkhitaryan) got knee ligament damage. He will not be available for Thursday and not for Newcastle and certainly not for the week after, when we play West Ham. I think he will miss these games for sure, but he could still play at the end of the season.” – Arsene Wenger"

It comes as a huge blow to Arsenal as Mkhitaryan was proving to be a key component in the combination play going forward. A lot of the creative burden of Arsenal always falls on Mesut Ozil. He is the one who is capable of playing that killer pass to unlock a defense, ut since Mkhitaryan joined Arsenal, he’s helped Ozil too.

The pressure was partially off Ozil, as Arsenal now had two creative outlets to rely on. Mkhitaryan’s telepathic understanding with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was a sight to behold too.

Unlike his time at Manchester United, Mkhitaryan seems to have settled in well and fits right into Arsenal’s style of play. His vision, dribbling and off the ball runs are top notch. He was the Bundesliga player of the season back in the 2015/16 season for a reason. Not just his creative qualities, but even his work rate has been superb, which is something that doesn’t come around often at the Emirates.

Arsenal fans were all excited on social media, hoping they would see Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Lacazette and Aubameyang start games together for Arsenal, but they might have to wait a bit more before that becomes a reality as a result of the Armenian’s injury.

It is very important for Arsenal that Mkhitaryan makes it for the semi finals of the Europa league, of course that is assuming that Arsenal see past CSKA Moscow in Russia on Thursday. They have a 3 goal advantage so they should be fine, barring any miracle.

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The Premier League top 4 race is more or less done, with Tottenham taking a commanding position at the 4th spot. So, the Premier League doesn’t matter much to Arsenal. What is vital is that Mkhitaryan gets fit for the Europa league, a competition he helped his old club, Manchester United win last year.