This archive report was first published on 5 September 2019.
On August 8, 2019, just 24 hours after playing for Arsenal against Tottenham in the North London derby, Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined AS Roma on loan.
At the time, Mkhitaryan had started just one of Arsenal's first four Premier League games, and he revealed that the lure of regular game time was the main reason for his switch to Serie A.
"Everything happened in the last day right after the Tottenham game I got a call from my agent," Mkhitaryan said. "He told me that I have to fly to Rome the next day to have a medical with the team and also sign a contract. It is a great opportunity for me as I didn’t get a lot of playing time."
Mkhitaryan joined Arsenal from Manchester United in January 2018 in a swap deal that saw Alexis Sanchez head in the opposite direction.
During his 18 months in North London, Mkhitaryan was limited to 29 Premier League starts, scoring nine goals in all competitions.
