Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger fears Henrikh Mkhitaryan may be damaged after Manchester United struggles
Wenger said: 'Of course you worry about how much it has affected him'
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ARSENE WENGER fears Henrikh Mkhitaryan could have been scarred for life by his Manchester United nightmare.
And the Arsenal boss is planning a counselling session with his new signing to work out how things went so wrong for him at Old Trafford.
Wenger said: “Of course you worry about how much it has affected him.
“I might have to analyse with him how things went in the past, what we can do and how we can help him.
“But this is a new chance for him, which is what everyone wants in life. And I’m sure that, with his quality, he will take it.”
Playmaker Mkhitaryan became an increasingly peripheral figure at United after falling out of favour with manager Jose Mourinho.
Now he aims to rebuild his shattered confidence after joining Arsenal in exchange for Alexis Sanchez this week.
Wenger, who revealed that he had tried to sign the Armenian international from Borussia Dortmund 18 months ago, said: “Mkhitaryan can play in all kinds of positions.
“He has the qualities to integrate into our technical game and he has a good team attitude, so I am confident it will work. It’s not just about buying players for huge amounts of money, where it’s only about the millions and not so much about values.
“It’s about having players in your team who care about your club, who have a sense of belonging and pride.”
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Mkhitaryan will not be available to play in tonight’s Carabao Cup semi- final, second leg against Chelsea as he made a brief substitute’s appearance in the competition during United’s 2-1 defeat at Bristol City last month.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have had a third bid — of £50million — rejected by Dortmund for their Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The two clubs are locked in talks, with the Germans holding out for £60m.