Henrikh Mkhitaryan has made his mind up about signing for Arsenal in the summer transfer window and has already begun house hunting in London as a result. The Borussia Dortmund playmaker has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, with Arsene Wenger thought to be planning a bid at the end of the season.
Last week, the Guardian reported that Arsenal were keen to acquire the services of Mkhitaryan, who is having a splendid season with Dortmund under Tomas Tuchel. The playmaker can be a little hit and miss at time, but this campaign has been all hit, with the playmaker scoring goals and laying on assists for fun.
That has naturally led to several clubs being interested in his services, but Arsenal are the frontrunners. Arsene Wenger has had the player watched several times this season, and is ready to put in an offer in the summer.
The fact that Mkhitaryan will only have a year remaining on his contract at the end of this season will help Arsenal in agreeing a transfer fee with Borussia Dortmund, but the 27-year -old is expected to demand a huge salary.
That salary is expected to be around £8 million a year ($11.4 million) according to The Sun, but that is not expected to be a problem for Wenger or Arsenal. The same report goes on to suggest Mkhitaryan has already made his mind up about a move to the Emirates next season, with a few of his family members recently flying to London to look for a house.
Mkhitaryan has reportedly told his friends he is set on a move to Arsenal, despite interest from the likes of Juventus as well.
Arsenal, while not exactly being short on creativity, have struggled to find the back of the net consistently this season, and Wenger probably sees Mkhitaryan as the ideal candidate to help solve that problem. While not being a pure goalscorer -- he does have 20 goals in all competitions this season -- Mkhitaryan will help reduce the creative burden on Mesut Ozil, which will in turn help the German play with a lot more freedom as well.
Arsenal's fluidity in the final third has sometimes been a problem this season, and Wenger sees Mkhitaryan as the ideal candidate to team up with Ozil and lay on those goals on a plate while scoring a fair few themselves.