The Armenian arrived at the Emirates in a straight-swap deal with Alexis Sanchez heading the other way.
Sanchez vacated the No.7 shirt, which Mkhitaryan will able to wear for the Premier League but, as a result of an obscure Uefa rule, he won’t be permitted to don that number on his back during European competition.
Under Article 52 Section 02 of the UEFA rules, it states: “No number may be used by more than one player on a team and no player may use more than one number in the course of a season.”
Unfortunately for the Gunners’ new recruit, Sanchez has been registered with the No.7 for the Europa League this season and played in the jersey for his former side’s win over Cologne in September.
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Arsenal unveil Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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“Now that I’m here, I’ll do my best for this club to create history”
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Sanchez, who also takes the No.7 shirt at United, will not be affected by this bizarre rule as the number has been unused at Old Trafford since the departure of Angel Di Maria in 2015.
It means Mkhitaryan will have to be assigned a second squad number in order to participate in Arsenal’s European campaign.
The north London club have addressed the issue via their official website and said: “UEFA rules state that Mkhitaryan must wear a different number for the remainder of our Europa League campaign.
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“This number will be confirmed soon.”
Other numbers that could be available to Mkhitaryan are 3, 5, 15 and 36 onwards.
Meanwhile, on completing his move to Arsenal, Mkhitaryan said: “I’m very happy that we could finish this deal and I’m very happy to be here.
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“It’s a dream come true because I’ve always dreamed of playing for Arsenal.
“Now that I’m here, I’ll do my best for this club to create history.”