Henrikh Mkhitaryan leaves Manchester United and joins Arsenal on three-and-a-half year deal

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has completed his move from Manchester United to Arsenal.

The Armenian playmaker makes the switch to London as part of the deal that will take Alexis Sanchez in the opposite direction, with Arsenal having expressed their preference to receive a player rather than take a £35million fee.

Standard Sport understands that Mkhitaryan has signed a three-and-a-half year deal.

Arsenal tracked Mkhitaryan during the summer of 2016 before he eventually opted to join United, where he struggled to impress Jose Mourinho.

Indeed the 28-year-old has completed only 136 minutes of Premier League football since November 5 and been left out of the matchday squad on seven occasions.

The 28-year-old is expected to be among Arsenal’s top earners and will be fulfilling a dream he first revealed in 2009.

“My favourite team is Arsenal,” a 20-year-old Mkhitaryan said when he was playing for FC Pyunik.

“I like their attacking play. Moreover, Arsene Wenger puts faith in young players while demanding results. I like that and want to play there.”

Mkhitaryan could also link up with former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has emerged as another of Arsenal’s top transfer targets as they look to compensate for the losses of Sanchez and Theo Walcott.