Sports
Arsenal held to ransom by Henrikh Mkhitaryan as Manchester United star demands pay rise to move
Arsenal are being held to ransom by the financial demands surrounding Henrikh Mkhitaryan’smove to the Emirates.
The Armenian holds the key to Alexis Sanchez’s move in the opposite direction to Manchester United.
Mirror Football understands that Arsenal remain confident the deal will get done this week with both players valued at around £35million.
But Mkhitaryan’s agent Mino Raiola has laid out a set of demands after insisting the United midfielder is in no rush to leave Old Trafford.
Mkhitaryan, 28, has got three and a half years left on his £150,000-a-week contract, wants a pay rise to go to Arsenal and will also want a “golden handshake” to leave United.
Raiola wants a big agent commission – more than £5m – and it is believed he will use the opportunity to try and renegotiate future terms for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, another of his clients.
Sanchez’s arrival at old Trafford will raise even more doubts over Ibrahimovic’s future and the Swedish superstar would be a target for MLS clubs in March, but would not leave without his contract being paid up.
Arsenal want a player-plus-cash deal but it is proving difficult to agree as Sanchez only has six months left on his deal while Mkhitaryan is younger and has longer terms so it is closer to being a straight swap.
However, Raiola believes Mkhitaryan is, at the very least, worth equal billing in the deal, saying: “Sanchez is part of Mkhi’s deal. Not the other way around. Without him, Sanchez simply cannot go to United.”
However it is understood that even without Mkhitaryan, Arsenal are expecting Sanchez to move to Old Trafford and the fact that both players were axed for their teams’ last games points to the fact they are on the move.
Mkhitaryan does not believe he has a future at Old Trafford after yet another recent fall out with boss Jose Mourinho in training over tracking back and defensive duties which led to another prolonged exclusion from the team.
But the Armenian midfielder also knows he would be public No.1 if he stayed at Old Trafford and was then seen as the reason that the Sanchez deal does not happen.
Arsenal believe that Raiola is now playing tough to get the best possible deal and are sure Mkhitaryan wants to move to London with the chance to link up again with Gunners recruitment chief Sven Mislintat, who he knows from Borussia Dortmund.
Raiola claimed: “Mkhi’s problems at Man Utd are purely related to playing football. He has no problem with the manager. It is not personal. And he has two and a half years left on his contract. He doesn’t have to leave.”
