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Arsenal FC Officially Announce Mkhitaryan Arrival, Alexis Departure

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The Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alexis Sanchez transfer swap between Manchester United and Arsenal is now officially complete. The deal, which had been discussed for many days, moving at a very slow pace, has finally been closed, and with nine days to spare in the January transfer window! Both clubs have made their announcements now conveying the switch.

Additionally, both clubs have altered the banner photo for their official Twitter account to include their new player.

Here are the statements from Arsenal’s official website.
On his transfer move from United, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is quoted: “I’m very happy that we could finish this deal and I’m very happy to be here. It’s a dream come true because I’ve always dreamed of playing for Arsenal. Now that I’m here, I’ll do my best for this club to create history.”

The quote attributed to Arsène Wenger reads: “Henrikh is a very complete player. He creates chances, he defends well, he can absorb distances and he’s very committed as well. I must say he’s a player who has all the attributes.”

 The Armenian national team captain gave his first interview as a member of the Gunners, and in it he explained why he he always dreamt of playing for the north London side. Thierry Henry is a big reason why, as Mkhitaryan is a huge admirer of the Frenchman.
“I always loved the way that Arsenal played and the way that Arsène Wenger has managed the team,” Mkhitaryan said.
“There have been a lot of young players, he’s managed them and they’ve done very well. Of course I was in love with the game of Thierry Henry. I loved the way he played – and maybe that was the reason to support Arsenal.”
Mkhitaryan joined United in July of 2016 on a four-year contract for a transfer fee reported variously as between £27 million and £30 million. He became the first Armenian to ever join the club and later the first to win a major European trophy.

All in all, he still had a very up and down season, but he did score one of the two goals in United’s 2-0 win over Ajax in the Europa League Final. When he said goodbye to Old Trafford, he did so in a very emotional manner.

Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.

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