Once a veteran player leaves the club on loan then it’s almost natural to write off any chances of them having a future with you.
That seemed to be the case with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Arsenal last season as he was sent on loan to Roma. It wasn’t clear if he would stay in Italy on a permanent basis, but it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t getting any more chances at Arsenal.
That probably felt like the right decision at the time and perhaps it was still the right call for Mikel Arteta to wait, but you do wonder if he would make a difference to the Arsenal team just now.
Arteta has plenty of options in the wider areas but they keep letting him down, while there is also a need for someone to create from the centre of the pitch just now.
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The Armenian star has managed five goals and four assists in only eight Serie A matches so far this year, so it looks like he’s on track to have his best season ever.
Roma fan site chiesaditotti delved a bit deeper into his stats for the year so far, and they make it clear that he’s playing better than he ever has.
He will turn 32 in January so he was never going to be a long term option wherever he ended up this season, but it does make you wonder if Arsenal should’ve given him another chance.
It’s also worth nothing that Willian is older and is also contributing far less than Mkhitaryan is just now, so it’s not a great look for Arsenal.