Patrick Rees
Manchester United have kicked their new Premier League season in style as they have secured all the points from their opening two games of the season. The sense of optimism in the players as well as in the fans can be clearly seen, and I won’t be wrong if I say that they could really go all out to challenge for the title this year.
The arrival of Jose Mourinho at the Old Trafford has really lifted the spectators and even the transfers he completed this summer have rejuvenated the hopes amongst the fans. All the new signings have been handed their first start for the team except Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian international has arrived at the club with a bag full of expectations but is yet to start a game for the Reds. He, though, have made some cameo roles in for the squad, but everyone is aware of the fact that he is not meant for that.
When asked the manager, Jose Mourinho, about the same, the manager simply replied: “Options.” The manager further went on say,
“I was reading the game against Leicester and I felt that we needed the speed of Jesse Lingard and, in the game against Bournemouth, that [Juan] Mata would help guard against their pressing really high. He could reach some spaces behind the line of the pressure and could be very useful for us.”
This time around, the Devils will be travelling to the KCOM Stadium to face the newly promoted Premier League side, Hull City and many expect that just like the other new names, Mkhitaryan will start the game for the Reds.
Well, that’s a different story, but his arrival at the club reminds us of the current Borussia Dortmund midfielder, Shinji Kagawa. The Japanese international arrived at the Old Trafford back in 2012 from the Bundesliga outfit, Borussia Dortmund. The midfield was unarguably a surprise addition to the squad, but he lived up to the expectations.
In his very first season with the club, he went on to make 26 appearances in all competitions and scored six goals, including that wonderful hat-trick against Norwich City. Though he missed two important months due to his injury, he played a major role for United in their Premier League triumph. Kagawa became the first Japanese player to win a Premier League title and also played in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last home game before retirement, which United won 2–1 and Kagawa received his Premier League medal and was voted Man of the Match.
The expectations reached the limits, but following the arrival of David Moyes, his first team chances were made limited and he only managed 18 Premier League appearances all season and eventually, he returned back to his former club Borussia Dortmund and established himself as a first team regular.
Well, the situation is quite similar here. The Armenian too has arrived at the Theatre of Dreams after a brilliant spell with Dortmund and just like Shinji Kagawa, he has been shouldered a bag full of expectations. Mourinho’s plan is simple and straight; if you are performing, you are playing and if Mkhitaryan’s exclusion from the first team is a clear indication that for the manager, he isn’t ready for the Premier League.
Well, that doesn’t mean that he has brought the Armenian to waste him on the bench, but I’m saying that the manager is well aware of the perfect time to unleash the Armenian on the field. Just a season before arriving at the Old Trafford, Shinji Kagawa had 43 Bundesliga appearances to his names, but a series of continues injuries and inconsistent performances under David Moyes knocked him out of the strides.
Well, the times have changed, but the story is quite similar. The manager, Jose Mourinho, has stated that Mkhitaryan will be an important figure for the side this season, but Kagawa’s misadventure is surely a lesson to remember for the Armenian. I’m not at all criticizing the move or the anything; the Armenian has just arrived and has a lot of time to establish himself in the club, but who knows, the Armenian might suffer a similar fate.
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