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.