Huddersfield 1-2 Arsenal: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis | Premier League 2018-19

#3 Henrikh Mkhitaryan returns with a bang

Mkhitaryan showed glimpses of his vast quality

Arsenal has been hit by their annual injury crisis recently with several of their players being ruled out. Though most of their problems have been in the defensive third, the niggling injuries to the likes of Ramsey and Ozil have starved the Gunners of a creative spark.

Thus, the return of Mkhitaryan against Huddersfield was met with optimism and the Armenian didn’t disappoint. The midfielder was at the heart of everything good the Gunners produced offensively. He played a key role in both of their goals and looked lively throughout.

For the first goal, he slid in a perfectly-shaped pass for Kolasinac to run onto. The Bosnian then found Iwobi to allow the latter to fire home.

The second goal epitomized Mkhitaryan to the tee. After it looked like the Armenian had passed up a good opportunity, he quickly gathered himself to free Maitland-Niles on the right flank. The Englishman made no mistake in finding Lacazette to double the Gunners’ lead.

Over the weeks, Arsenal has looked a little bereft of ideas in the attacking third. Thus, Mkhitaryan’s return might just have come at the right time for Emery.