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Arsenal are considering selling Henrikh Mkhitaryan this summer, per the Daily Mirror.

The Gunners need to raise funds for the summer and are weighing up the possibility of cashing in on the Armenia international.

What’s the word?

Mkhitaryan, who joined the club from Manchester United in a part-exchange deal that saw Alexis Sanchez move to Old Trafford, is one of the highest earners at the club.

Per the aforementioned report, the 30-year-old currently earns a wage of £180,000-per-week, with his contract set to expire in 2021.

Manager Unai Emery is said to believe that the money could be better used elsewhere, with the club’s wage bill causing problems.

Arsenal, of course, did not make a permanent signing in the January transfer window, instead signing Denis Suarez on loan from Barcelona.

Emery, it is said, could be given a transfer budget of just £45million in the summer before sales are taken into account and both Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil, who earns £350,000-per-week, being moved on would have a positive effect on the club’s finances.

Mkhitaryan has made 18 Premier League appearances this season, scoring six goals and providing four assists.

A dismal new reality

Having put Arsenal on course for a top four finish, Emery should be rewarded with considerable backing in the summer, but the gaffer is paying the price for years of financial mismanagement at the Emirates.

Mkhitaryan and Ozil swallow up over half a million pounds in wages per week and yet neither of them are all that important to the way Arsenal currently play.

It is little wonder, then, that Arsenal's budget is so tight.

If the club are to move forward and become genuine Premier League title challengers, something which Emery appears capable of guiding them towards, they have to spend to keep up with the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.

As it is, they are also-rans in the title race, being forced to settle for qualification for the Champions League as a crowning achievement yet again.

We have, of course, been here before, and Emery will have been aware of the club's history before his appointment.

Now, though, his potential is being capped by the club's finances. As it stands, don't expect much improvement next season, even if Emery has proved himself a shrewd operator thus far.