Arsene Wenger Confident of Getting the Best Out of Mkhitaryan & Discusses Nature of Sanchez Exit

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is confident he can get the best out of Henrikh Mkhitaryan following the Armenian play-maker's move from Manchester United this week.

Mkhitaryan arrived in England from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2016 with a reputation as one of the most dangerous attacking players in Europe, but a decidedly mixed spell at Old Trafford appeared to affect his confidence.

Having already labelled his latest signing 'world class', Wenger addressed the media at a press conference on Tuesday morning and spoke of the 'challenge' that lies ahead (Arsenal.com).

"I have no doubt about his attitude, his commitment, his desire to do well. He suffered a little bit maybe from the competition he had [at Manchester United] and overall that is his challenge.

"My challenge is to get him to express his talent completely, that we know is absolutely right because he has done extremely well, so he has a new challenge that we want to help him be successful in," the Frenchman added.

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Asked what the 29-year-old can bring, Wenger explained, "I would say quality of runs, quality of creativity, and he can be very penetrating with his passing and his runs. Also technical stability in our team and experience as well. He knows what it is to fight at the top level."

The Gunners boss was not prepared to dwell on the loss of Sanchez, basically suggesting there was nothing more the club could have done and that the player had to do what was best for him.

"I said here that he's 29 years old going on to 30 in 2018, and that is was maybe his last contract. Of course the financial aspect is important," Wenger commented.

"He could combine both. I think he's going to a great club and he gets a great contract, so you can understand that a professional player can combine both aspects.

"At the end of the day, we are a serious football club who have responsibilities and we want to spend the money we can afford. The maximum we can afford, we do, but as well you have some decisions to make at some stage - are you responsible in your management or not?

"If you cannot afford, you have to say 'No, sorry, can't do that'."