Sport

Mkhitaryan hasn’t changed style, the style has changed to suit him

Manchester United looked like a step too far

Nothing has come easy for Henrikh Mkhitaryan. In his heartfelt Players’ Tribune post back in November, we learned of his quest to follow in his father’s footsteps after Hamlet Mkhitaryan’s passing when Henrikh was so young, all while being uprooted from his homeland to stay safe.

Then, as he developed from uninterested child into a football-obsessed teen, Mkhitaryan found himself trying to prove his worth in places from Brazil in his early adolescence, to conflict-stricken Ukraine – nothing has ever been settled in the talented Armenian’s world.

That constant upheaval seemed to have finally got the better of him as he flattered to deceive in his first season in England. Having gone from the top provider in the Bundesliga to laying on just one assist in 2016/17 for Manchester United, the 28-year-old gave many the impression that a move to the Premier League had been a step too far.

As United were linked with the likes of Ivan Perisic over the summer, it seemed Mkhitaryan’s game-time could have been limited yet further this season. However, while Nemanja Matic’s worth to United has been much vaunted in recent weeks, Romelu Lukaku’s ruthlessness has drawn much acclaim, while Paul Pogba has added an end product to his myriad of ability, working in the shadows, cutting sides open with incisive passes is Mkhitaryan. While United struggled to finish teams off last season, creating a multitude of chances that went begging, Mkhitaryan has improved their expected goals stats – creating clearer-cut chances that the likes of Lukaku thrive upon.

Perfect foil for faster players in attack

While operating as a No 10, the Armenian isn’t simply playing off Lukaku, he is roaming, allowing more pacey players to get ahead of him. Now, he can feed Marcus Rashford, Lukaku or Pogba, without having to really worry about getting on the end of passes himself. Mourinho’s shift from 4-2-3-1 to a more flexible 4-1-4-1 eeks the very best out of the Armenian – United’s new creative focal point.

He did his best to warn us: “I know for this upcoming season I can do better.” Mkhitaryan said last month. “I’m working hard and I know that I will achieve more. I can improve. I’m not saying just goals or assists. As well the playing style, the understanding between my team-mates, I mean everything.”

And everything has improved early on. Two games in and Mkhitaryan has four assists to his name, but it is the different dimension that he offers to United, that was not prevalent regularly enough last season, that will really please his manager.

This campaign, Mkhitaryan has created killer chances for the second and third goals against West Ham and Swansea that put games to bed. He has been able to do so thanks to this new-look attack.

Ibrahmovic immobility hindered Mkhitaryan

Mkhitaryan needs players ahead of him making runs. Last season, for all his goals, there wasn’t much movement up front from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Pogba was forced to remain deep, without sufficient protection for the back four in place to allow him freedom to venture forward, while Rashford’s impact was sporadic as Mourinho struggled to fit him in his system.

Now, Pogba can break ahead of Mkhitaryan with Matic there to protect, while Lukaku’s incredible athleticism and willingness to run the channels fits like a driving glove with Mkhitaryan’s view his ideal striker. Mkhitaryan hasn’t had to adapt his game a great deal, he just now just has targets for his throughballs.

It remains to be seen how easily better opposition are carved open by Mkhitaryan’s defence splitters, but with targets aplenty in this season’s United side, expect the assists to continue to flow, and his path the glory he set out on as a boy to move closer as a result.