Henrikh Mkhitaryan Extends Roma Loan Deal Until End of Arsenal Contract
Forgotten Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has extended his loan spell at Roma until the end of the campaign, with an agreement in place to remain in Serie A next season too.
The 31-year-old was shipped off to the Stadio Olimpico at the beginning of the 2019/20 season after failing to make the desired impact at Arsenal, making up one half of the ill-fated swap deal that took Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United.
The Armenian hasn't featured as often as he'd like in Rome, but has still made a substantial impact - compared to his time in north London at least - for I Giallorossi, netting six times in 15 Serie A games.
Henrix Mkhitaryan will stay at Roma also on next season on a permanent deal. Agreement reached with Arsenal - never started any talks for a swap deal with Justin Kluivert. ?? #Arsenal #AFC #Roma #transfers
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 30, 2020
An agreement has now been announced by Roma regarding an extension to the deal - one that will see Mkhitaryan remain in the Italian capital until the end of his Arsenal contract, which is due to expire at the end of next season.
"I'm very pleased," Mkhitaryan told Roma's official website. "I'm happy to extend my stay here, because I still have things that I haven't achieved yet that I want to achieve.
"I'm looking forward to it."
Roma's chief executive Guido Fienga added: "We are happy that Henrikh has decided to stay with us, and help us continue to grow.
"The club's targets have not changed and we always want to have players at our club, like Micki, who show their desire, professionalism and determination, who represent our club and our fans in the right way.
"I hope Micki stays at Roma for a long time - and I want to congratulate him on the birth of his son here, too."
In essence, this move ends Mkhitaryan's career at Arsenal - one that saw the former Borussia Dortmund star make 59 appearances for the club, scoring nine goals. Over the course of his career, he's tended to fare better in front of goal on the international stage - netting on 29 occasions for Armenia.
His immediate aims are to help Roma - and Manchester United loanee Chris Smalling - qualify for next season's Champions League, though Atalanta currently hold a nine-point cushion in fourth place.