Taking The Mkhi

Arsenal's indecisiveness over Alexis Sanchez has led to one of the most bizarre transfers in Premier League history, following the Chilean's swap deal with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

As frustration seemed to take over Sanchez towards the end of his Arsenal career, so did The Gunners' performances, with inconsistency the only, well, consistent aspect about their results in the past 12 months.

Last year's title fade-away (yes, there was one) was clearly one too many for the undoubtedly world-class winger, who formed the common pose of sitting on his haunches as his contract ticked down, forcing Arsenal to make a move that, in the end, never really came.

The shambles of the August transfer window which reportedly saw Arsenal set to break their transfer record twice in the space of a month (with a supposedly-failed £92m coup for Monaco midfielder Thomas Lemar) was the product of not tying down the starlet earlier - and they are now literally paying the price twofold - on one hand by letting him go for free, and on the other to let him go to a domestic rival.

It reeks of Arsenal's bemusing ability to make rods for their own backs having been down this road before. Not least in the sense that Manchester United are profiting once again from Arsenal's flat-footedness on the matter, but a star player has left the Emirates Stadium without a replacement of the same calibre secured - for now.

That is not a criticism of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who moves to make way for Sanchez at Old Trafford and arrives only 18 months into a career in Manchester that turned sour despite showing the quality that saw him sought after by Europe's elite following his departure from Borussia Dortmund.

The intrigue and the bewilderment sources from Arsenal's purported chase over the Armenian's ex-teammate, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

This scenario goes one of two ways for Arsenal. The positive angle is that not only have they poached a quality player from a rival on a lesser wage, but they will also look to invest in a top-class striker that has previous form with the incoming Mkhitaryan.

The puzzling aspects are that you'd think Arsenal's focus for arrivals would be more defensive-minded, given that defensive woes have not been solved on or off the pitch since the summer and the defending staff are not getting any younger, and club captain Per Mertesacker is long-confirmed to be leaving the club already.

In selling Sanchez, Arsenal are not solving their issues at the back and removing one of their main threats going forward. Ironically, in other words, they are moving sideways at best in terms of progress. 

Would Aubameyang be joining without Mkhitaryan's arrival? Why has this become the priority deal for Arsenal? What will happen to Alexandre Lacazette or teammate Olivier Giroud? The logic does not seem to be there at the moment, but it wouldn't be the first time Arsene Wenger has proved critics wrong.

Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos will do well to fill the defensive void all on his own - especially since he's not a very good goalkeeper. But the pursuit of Aubameyang suggests that signing the Gabon international would not be possible in the future, and surely - surely - the defence will be reinforced adequately before 2018/19 kicks off.

The financial argument does not hold up anymore. Figures released today claimed that Arsenal are the sixth-richest football club - a higher ranking than that of PSG or Juventus. They cannot afford to risk falling further behind their rivals, but the data suggests they can afford more than they expend.

What's more, Arsenal could have cashed in on Alexis and not had him hold the team back in certain games this season, while strengthening the weak areas that essentially saw them fail to reach the Champions League. 

Whilst Sanchez has chipped in with a large share of the goals as usual, he has cut an impatient figure of late, often plumping for a first-time killer pass instead of keeping possession, or taking a DIY approach to attacking that has left fans and potentially teammates frustrated. 

And while that is a testament to his love for the game, perhaps this is, in the end, a victory for all parties. Time will tell whether this latest gamble will prove fruitful for Arsenal but the starts of Mkhitaryan and Sanchez will determine whether The Gunners will get away with another problem of their own making.