‘Fuming’ Mourinho Reveals Why He Dropped Mkhitaryan vs Newcastle
Reuters / Maxim Shemetov
Jose Mourinho responded in a very cheeky and practical manner on why Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not make the cut in his matchday squad against Newcastle United in the Premier League over the weekend.
Mkhitaryan featured in every single Premier League game prior to the match against the Magpies at Old Trafford. The Armenian hasn’t quite found it going in recent set of games and has been struggling.
This prompted the media to ask why he wasn’t included and that got Jose fuming.
“There are always questions about somebody in a certain moment, a certain match and a certain period that didn’t play. The story is always the same. In some positions, when you don’t have injuries, you have lots of options in other positions. In this moment, we have Pogba, Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay so I can imagine, next week, you are going to ask – why is this player not playing?.”
With many players fighting for spots, it will be difficult for certain players to find his name on the sheet every game and also with a lot depending on tactics and the opposition. With the hectic period coming in December, United like every other Premier League club will be rotating the players.
Jose stated that he decided to go ahead with Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford together against the Magpies and that’s why Micki was left out.
“Micki is not playing because we had lots of options for that match. I decided to play Marcus Rashford and Martial together,” said the manager.
The former Borussia Dortmund player who can play in the wings or in the No. 10 position saw Juan Mata taking the centralised role.
Mkhitaryan has featured 16 times for the Mancunian club this season and has scored two goals. With the likes of Jesse Lingard, Mata, Martial, Lukaku and Ibra, the competition for places is a vast one. And it is understandable Jose will only choose the Armenian if he fights his way back into the side.
For now the manager has serious selection headache.
Written by Rajdeep Saha 
Sports journalist with stints across print, digital and television. Contribution to each medium has been thrilling. Experienced in writing for this passionate game called football. Journalist by choice and passion.