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Mourinho: Arsenal are ‘the only’ club I’ll let Mkhitaryan join

By on January 16, 2018

Jose Mourinho has suggested that Arsenal are the only club he will allow Henrikh Mkhitaryan to join as Man Utd use the playmaker as bait to land Alexis Sanchez.

United are now firmly in pole position to sign Alexis as Man City have decided not to up their offer after the Red Devils blew them out the water with the money they’ve put on the table.

Widespread reports claim Sanchez has agreed personal terms with United on a contract worth around £350,000-a-week but the main thing holding up the proposed move is Mkhitaryan moving in the opposite direction.

The Armenian international was axed from the United squad for their win over Stoke last night and Mourinho confirmed he had left him out due to the possibility he was joining Arsenal as part of the Sanchez deal.

There are rumours claiming other clubs are also showing an interest in Mkhitaryan but Mourinho has suggested that he will only let the player join Arsenal this month.

Mourinho is quoted as saying by the Daily Star.

“He’s a player that I like, of high quality,” he told Sky Sports. Is he going to be involved in one deal in leaving us? It’s possible. But it’s also possible that he stays.

“I’m just trying to protect him and the team, so let’s make sure he stays with us or that he leaves us. The market is open. I have a squad of 22 players and I want to keep a squad of 22 players.

“Arsenal is the only one I open the door for him to go and play, because I believe he is really a good talent, and he needs to play a part of that.

“The numbers we have, with the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, I have to keep the number of players we have.”

Reading between the lines, Mourinho is basically saying he will only let Mkhitaryan leave if he’s part of the deal that sees Sanchez move to Old Trafford as a replacement. Obviously it’s not that Mourinho has a soft spot for Arsenal and he’d like to see Mkhitaryan fulfill his potential here. He just wants to use him as bait to land Sanchez.

In truth, the swap deal makes sense for all concerned. Alexis gets the money he wants, United get a world class player for decent money, Arsenal get a top class replacement and Mkhitaryan gets to play some regular football again.

Let’s see what happens, no doubt there will be plenty more twists and turns before this saga is over….