Henrikh Mkhitaryan hinted that he wasn’t ‘guaranteed’ to play games at Manchester United – but do these quotes prove that he knew he’d be on the bench?
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HENRIKH MKHITARYAN could foresee his own bleak Manchester United future when he arrived for pre-season.
The Armenian ace was left on the bench during United's 1-0 win over rivals Manchester City in the EFL Cup.
The sight of the £26million signing in a tracksuit trudging towards the Old Trafford dressing room heightened the mystery surrounding his absence.
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According to sources, Mkhitaryan is fit and healthy and ready to play for United and netted 18 goals in 51 games at the Westfalenstadion last year alone.
But this season he has only featured in five matches for the Red Devils, his last being a miserable half against Manchester City in the 2-1 Premier League defeat.
The 27-year-old hinted in pre-season that he did not think he would play often, though.
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He said: "It doesn’t matter if they buy me for, I don’t know, £38m or £40m, I am not guaranteed to play the games.
“So I am trying to do my best during the training to earn this place to play and then we will see, because I don’t think I will play every game, depending on the tactical situation, depending on the opponent.
"But I will do everything to try and help the team.”
That doesn't sound like the words of a man who knows he is coming into a top European team to set the world on fire.
United have signed too many passengers in recent years, with Memphis Depay looking like a flop, Matteo Darmian hardly being given a chance under Jose Mourinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic getting stick for his performances in the last few weeks.
We should find out if Mkhitaryan will feature against Burnley on Saturday at Mourinho's pre-match press conference today.