Tanvir Juneja
Mourinho’s import from the BVB Stadium, 27-year old Armenian International, Henrikh Mkhitaryan finally started the game for Manchester United but was unfortunately replaced in the half time, thanks to his poor show of character. The attacking midfielder who became the second of United’s four top-notch summer signings for this season came to Old Trafford in early July.
Following his arrival at the club, Mourinho has played last season’s Bundesliga Players’ Player of the Year only in the second half of the Premier League, up until the Derby. Although, he started United’s first three pre-season encounters and showed up in the second halves at more than a couple of occasions including Rooney’s Testimonial match against Everton, Community Shield victory over Leicester and United’s opening weekend win against Bournemouth, Mourinho reiterates the idea of how important a player like Mkhitaryan is in the current squad at his disposal.
The manager explained in his press conference the reasons behind the Armenian’s exclusion in the previous games. Here is what he had to 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.”
“I decided to play [Wayne] Rooney in both games, close to Zlatan [Ibrahimovic], and I didn’t start with Micki. When some managers buy players, they feel they have to protect their choices by playing the player all the time – I am not like this. Before me, comes the team and what I think is best for the team.
“I felt that Lingard and Mata were better options for the team in these matches, with the reality of the Premier League, so I made that decision.”
“I keep saying the same thing, though, that Mkhitaryan is a super football player and will give us a lot during the season.”
So, the boss has finally revealed his thinking and attitude towards picking his side to the optimum potential in order to get the best results. He has thrown light behind his ideologies of playing Mkhitaryan and using him as a special feature in his line-up, but didn’t work in the Derby at all. Mourinho like to have him as one of his go-to options in trouble when he could just pop out of nowhere and give the team a leading so that the other match-winners like Zlatan, Pogba, Rooney and Martial could find balance and derive some inspiration in the dying minutes of important fixtures.
Speaking of go-to players, new signings, supporting anchor-roles in the midfield to star strikers and most ironically Borussia Dortmund imports, there is one name that comes to mind almost instantly and that too in the right side of the brain in the form of young memory. Yes, I am referring to Japanese International Shinji Kagawa who made an impressive 57 appearances for the Red Devils but couldn’t fit in at the role as well as other greats from the club.
Nonetheless, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is valued at a higher price than Kagawa and is in stellar from fresh off the Bundesliga. So, there is very low possibility of his game being scrambled up like that of Kagawa at United. He is a more clinical attacker and Mourinho knows just how to deploy him best.
For him to be another Shinji Kagawa at Old Trafford, it would take more than a few failures and utter disgust from the fans and the manager, which is not likely to happen anymore, given the amazing variety Mourinho can exploit wit constantly changing and mixing things up. Plus, a lively young arrival of the Armenian International at the Theatre of Dreams, he would be shattered to go out in a similar fashion as former teammate Kagawa. He is here to stay and hopefully settle down to come into his own rhythm achieving the best individual and team results.
