WHEN IN ROME
Arsenal winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan vague on plans to return to Gunners after securing loan transfer to Roma
Joe Brophy
ARSENAL winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan is unsure if he will return to the Gunners after joining Roma on loan until the end of the season.
The Serie A side paid a fee of around £2.5million to bring in the Armenian, and he will wear the No77 on his shirt with the Giallorossi.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan sealed a season-long loan to Roma last weekCredit: Instagram @officialasroma
The switch to Italy brought an end to the 30-year-old's one and a half year stay at the Emirates, following a swap deal from Manchester United for Alexis Sanchez.
Mkhitaryan made 59 appearances for Arsenal, scoring nine goals since his winter move in 2018, but struggled to establish himself under Unai Emery.
Roma do not have an option to buy in the deal that took the midfielder to the Stadio Olimpico, but the former Borussia Dortmund star is open to his long-term future being in Serie A.
"Let's first see what I can do at Roma and at the end of the season I think we can talk if I will have the possibility to stay or to go to something else, I don't know," He told reporters, via VBET News, following Armenia's 3-1 loss to Italy in Euro 2020 qualifying.
"Now, I cannot say about the future, it's better to be focused on the next games."
At the end of the season I think we can talk if I will have the possibility to stay (at Roma) or to go to something else
Roma have made a slow start to the new campaign, with draws against Genoa and local rivals Lazio in their opening two games.
Despite this, Mkhitaryan is confident in his new teammates' ability and is ready to feature under Paulo Fonseca wherever is deemed best.
He added: "I'm ready to play in every position and I'm ready to help the team because the club is great.
"The team is a very good team and I'm going to try and do my best to help the team to achieve."
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Roma also swooped to sign Mkhitaryan's former United teammate Chris Smalling on loan during the summer window.
And the England defender looks highly likely to continue his stay in Italy beyond this season, with an agent involved in his move hinting as much.
Smalling was an unused substitute during the club's 1-1 draw with Lazio but is expected to get game time after the international break.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan joins Roma from Arsenal as Italians announce loan transfer with missing child plea
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