Mkhitaryan to stay at Roma, loan-deal from Arsenal extended

AS Roma has reached a “preliminary agreement” to extend midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s loan deal from Arsenal until the end of next season.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined AS Roma at the start of the season following a disappointing 18-month stint at Arsenal.

AS Roma has reached a “preliminary agreement” to extend midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s loan deal from Arsenal until the end of next season, the Serie A club said on Tuesday.

Mkhitaryan, 31, joined the Italians at the start of the season after a disappointing 18-month spell at Premier League club Arsenal following a swap deal in January 2018 which saw Chile forward Alexis Sanchez move to Manchester United. “I’m very pleased,” Mkhitaryan told Roma’s 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.”

The Armenia international has scored six goals and provided four assists in all competitions for the Rome club. His loan deal was set to expire on Tuesday.

“We are happy that Henrikh has decided to stay with us, and help us continue to grow,” Roma CEO Guido Fienga said. “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.”

Roma is fifth in the standings with 48 points and on track to qualify for the Europa League. It is nine points behind Atalanta which occupies the fourth and final Champions League spot with 10 games to play.