Thierry Henry believes Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a great player who will fit into Arsenal’s style of play.

Mkhitaryan officially became an Arsenal player on Monday, with Alexis Sanchez heading the other way to Manchester United. The Armenian has a lot to live up to after a disappointing first half of the season, but Henry feels he will slot in just fine.

“As far as the Sanchez/Mkhitaryan swap is concerned, I was a big fan of Mkhitaryan when he was at Dortmund, but things didn’t go his way at Manchester United,” he said, as reported by the Express.

“You have to give him the benefit of the doubt. He looks like an Arsenal player with the way he likes to play and the way Arsenal like to play. Time will tell us who was right with the swap. He’s still a great player.”

An excellent wide playmaker when on form, Mkhitaryan should certainly enjoy playing in the Arsenal team. He will have the freedom to roam around the pitch and will receive plenty of the ball. All the 29-year-old has to do is build his confidence and find form again.

Henry is correct in saying that only time will tell if the move is a good one or not. On paper, it doesn’t look too bad. Arsenal have lost a quality player in Sanchez, but have gained someone who’s better suited to their style of play.

In practice, there are a couple of things that will take time. He and Arsenal will need to get used to each other, while he’ll also have to cope with essentially being Alexis’ direct replacement, which comes with its own pressure.

He has the quality. We just need to bring that out of him.