Arsenal boast youngest top-6 squad as Mkhitaryan leaves for Roma
More good news for Arsenal fans. Roma have signed the painfully ineffectual Henrikh Mkhitaryan on a season-long loan deal. The Italian club will pay all of the 30-year-old’s £200,00-a-week wages plus a loan fee, thought to be £5m.
Mkhitaryan promised much when he joined Arsenal from Manchester United in January 2018 in an odd transfer that involved Alexis Sanchez moving the other way.
His leaving give Arsenal the chance to stick with their plan to give more minutes to young players.
Arsenal are building a team. With Mkhitaryan at the Gunners, the average age of the first-team squad in 25.4 – the youngest among the so-called Top 6 clubs. This focus on youth is a deliberate policy. As Jonathan Northcroft writes: “The idea is that Arsenal will have two elite players contending for every position with a third — an emerging youngster — pushing hard behind them. No youth blueprint works if pathways are not properly designed.” In recent days, Monreal, Elneny and now Mkhitaryan have left the club.
Posted: 2nd, September 2019 | In: Arsenal, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
