Arsenal are reportedly holding out for around £12m plus Henrikh Mkhitaryan before they allow Alexis Sanchez to sign for Manchester United.

Mkhitaryan’s move to Arsenal has allegedly slowed down because the Gunners are holding out for £12m as well as the player.

Although it was understood that United could pay Arsenal around £30m for Alexis outright, it turns out that we’d much rather have the player-plus-cash. We basically want to have our cake and eat it.

In today’s market and in his current form, most believe that Mkhitaryan would cost around £25m-£30m outright, which is how much the Red Devils paid Dortmund for him back in 2016.

Therefore, around £12m-plus-Mkhitaryan does make sense.

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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – JANUARY 05: Henrikh Mkhitaryan of Manchester United in action during the FA Cup 3rd round match between Manchester United and derby County at Old Trafford on January 5, 2018 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

On the other hand, Arsenal fans are anxious that their club is putting the whole transfer in jeopardy by penny-pinching.

Alexis doesn’t want to be at the club anymore and bringing in a fresh player would be good for us. No one wants to be stuck with the stroppy Chilean for another six months before we lose him on a free.

The 29-year-old has supposedly already put pen to paper on a four-and-a-half year deal with United, which will see him earn £14m-a-year after tax.

The BBC’s David Ornstein also claims that the deal hasn’t developed any further today (Friday).

Keep up-to-date with this story as it develops here.