Henrikh Mkhitaryan appears to have hopped on to the Jose-Mourinho’s-defensive-tactics-are-having-a-negative-effect bandwagon, reportedly blaming his manager for his poor form.
Despite starting the season brightly for Manchester United, the Armenian has hardly featured for them in recent weeks. He was again absent from the squad for the visit of Bournemouth to Old Trafford on Wednesday night, with Mourinho explaining after the game that he felt other forwards deserved a place ahead of him.
Now, as reported by Samuel Luckhurst in the Manchester Evening News, Mkhitaryan believes his dip in form has come as a result of his manager’s defensive demands.
The former Borussia Dortmund forward is said to have been asked to take on additional defensive responsibilities by his manger, despite operating in the number 10 position.
The report indicates that Mkhitaryan believes he did what Mourinho had asked of him. It also adds that other unnamed attackers at United also felt their performances had been hit by the tactical changes implemented by their manager in the Premier League games which took place between the October and November international breaks.
Although United beat Tottenham at home during this run, they lost away games at Huddersfield and Chelsea and were criticised for their failure to attack Liverpool in the 0-0 draw at Anfield.
Mkhitaryan struggled to force his way into the United starting XI last season after his summer move from Dortmund. It remains to be seen of he will return to the squad for their weekend trip to West Brom with some reports suggesting he could be set for a departure from the club in the January transfer window.
