Manchester United’s manager Jose Mourinho has finally revealed why Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been missing from United’s recent match day squads.
According to the Portuguese gaffer, Mkhitaryan’s absence was because of other players’ good form which had made them more deserving of places in the first team.
Prior to being dropped, the Armenian International,who had made an excellent start to the season, had experienced a surprising dip in form. In a number of games, the midfielder,who is usually tasked with the responsibility of co ordinating United’s forward play, had developed a knack for letting the game pass him by to the consternation of United fans. A case in point is United’s 1:0 loss away to Chelsea in November, Mkhitaryan had failed to exert any form of dominance in midfield unlike Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas whose display in midfied as a deep lying playmaker had earned him the player of the match in the game.
The former Borrusia Dortmund’s midfield maestro, now seems to be paying the price as he has now failed to make Mourinho’s 18-man squad for seven of United’s last eight games, with his only recent outing coming as a substitute against Brighton on November 25.
When quizzed on Mkhitaryan’s absence, Mourinho said his wide range of midfield and attacking options means there is always going to be fierce competition for places on the bench as much as a place in his starting XI.
“I can only have six [outfield] players on the bench and I try to have some balance on the bench,” Mourinho said.
“[Against Bournemouth] I had two defenders and [Daley] Blind who can play in different areas. I had Ashley Young to cover all of the wing and the wing-back position.
“I had [Ander] Herrera as a midfield player, Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] as a striker and Marcus [Rashford] as a second striker and winger.
“I played [Anthony] Martial, [Juan] Mata and [Jesse] Lingard in the team. To have Micki (Mkhitaryan) means that I don’t have one of them and, in this moment, I believe the other ones they deserve [the chance to play].”
United’s manager, Mourinho, is known for his tough love approach in his player management. In his time at Old Trafford he has not been afraid to consign underperforming stars to the bench. Stars like Anthony Martial and Luke have been victims and this would be Mkhitaryan’s second spell out in the cold, as following poor performances in games in his debut season, the Portuguese manager had left him out of series of games, albieit to good effect as the playmaker discovered his creative knack and went on to become a regular fixture in United’s starting line up throughout the season.
United face West Brom on Saturday and whether the Armenian would be considered for a place in the match day squad remains to be seen.