The Times (London)
November 1, 2017 Wednesday


Another slow start

by Ian Whittell


The player dubbed the "Armenian Messi" during a strong second half of
last season, especially in Europe where his performances contributed
to United winning the Europa League, is clearly struggling to convince
his manager that he is an automatic choice. After a largely lifeless
display against Spurs, the latest in a growing list of sub-par
showings, Henrikh Mkhitaryan came off the bench last night, spending
most of the evening isolated on the right wing.

Mkhitaryan took time at the start of last season to win his manager's
favour and there is a real danger of the Armenian Messi simply
becoming an Armenian mess.