It’s difficult to know who got the worst of the swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alexis Sanchez. Arsenal fans will tell you it’s them after Mkhitaryan’s performance against Bournemouth on Sunday, whereas Manchester United fans will be wondering why their club is spending £500k-a-week in wages for the services of Sanchez.
It was last January that the protracted transfer was finally completed and we take a look at what (if anything) each team has got from the deal…
Mkhitaryan was again hammered for his abysmal display during Arsenal’s 2-1 win at Bournemouth and Gunners fans were seething on Twitter as the Armenian struggled to impose himself on the opposition.
The match was the latest in a long line of struggles for the 29-year-old, who endured a difficult time at Old Trafford before moving to The Emirates. The move was meant to ignite the creative skills of Mkhitaryan, but a return of five goals and nine assists from 32 appearances for the Gunners is a paltry return.
Mkhitaryan has been involved in an Arsenal goal (either scored or provided an assist) every 161 minutes on average. He’s raking in a weekly wage of £200k and his five goals have arrived at a cost of £1.9m in wages alone.
Still, that is nothing compared to Sanchez, whose four goals have cost United an eye-watering £9.68m in wages.
The Chilean, who turns 30 next month, has scored four goals and laid on seven assists in 30 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils, playing a part in a Manchester United goal every 197 minutes on average.
Sanchez has received as many bookings – four – as he has scored goals during his time in Manchester and Jose Mourinho has pushed him to the fringes of late, leaving him out of the squad for the 3-1 defeat to West Ham and naming him among the substitutes for recent league games.
In fairness to Sanchez he did enjoy one moment in the sun in a United shirt when he scored in the FA Cup semi-final win over Tottenham last season. It was a moment that was supposed to ignite a change in fortunes for Sanchez. It hasn’t.
The United player has been linked with a move to Paris St-Germain of late and it is difficult to envisage him having a future at Old Trafford.
There have been no winners when it has come to this swap deal and it is looking like an expensive mistake for both clubs at this stage.