Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits life at Man United was ‘hard’ under Jose Mourinho but has no regrets

Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits life at Man United was ‘hard’ under Jose Mourinho but insists he has no regrets over his Old Trafford move as he gears up for a Europa League reunion with Roma

  • Henrikh Mkhitaryan will come up against some familiar faces on Thursday night
  • Man United host Roma in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie
  • Mkhitaryan has opened up on his Man United spell between 2016 and 2018 
  • The Armenian international admitted he ‘learned a lot’ under Jose Mourinho

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has opened up on his Manchester United playing days ahead of his tasty reunion with Roma in the Europa League, claiming he has no regrets about his decision to join the club.

Mkhitaryan joined United in the summer of 2016 from Borussia Dortmund before departing for Premier League rivals Arsenal in a swap deal involving Alexis Sanchez in January 2018 after struggling to hit the heights like he did in Germany.

The Armenian international won the Europa League in his first season at the club, scoring United’s second goal of the final against Ajax. 

Roma’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan is gearing up for a reunion with Man United in the Europa League

However, it was arguably his stand-out moment in Manchester as he failed to convince then United manager Jose Mourinho, subsequently struggling for regular game time under the Portuguese boss.

But despite his rather underwhelming tenure at Old Trafford, in which he has even admitted he found tough working under Mourinho, Mkhitaryan insisted that he did learn a lot from.

‘I never regret my decisions,’ the Armenian told The Athletic ahead of Roma’s Europa League semi-final first-leg clash at Old Trafford on Thursday evening.

‘At that time, he (Mourinho) was one of the most successful coaches in the world. I think he was the coach with the most trophies. So that was a different experience. 

The Armenian star struggled to convince under Jose Mourinho during his time at Old Trafford

The Armenian star struggled to convince under Jose Mourinho during his time at Old Trafford

‘It was very hard but I learned a lot as well. I learned how to defend, how to help the team. It was not only about scoring goals and making assists. 

‘It was more about the team winning so it doesn’t matter who scored, we had to win together. It didn’t matter who made the assist we must always be happy that we won the game.’

Despite admitting it was hard at times at United, Mkhitaryan was eager to dismiss the notion that he struggled throughout at Old Trafford.

‘What I want to say is that I had a hard time but after the first two or three months there, I had a very good time,’ he added. ‘I won three trophies with the club, which was amazing. You know, some players have been playing in Manchester for ages but they haven’t won anything.’ 

Mkhitaryan has fond memories with United though, winning the Europa League in 2017

Mkhitaryan has fond memories with United though, winning the Europa League in 2017

Mkhitaryan left Old Trafford having won the EFL Cup and Community Shield alongside the Europa League. On an individual note, he scored just 13 times and produced 11 assists in 63 matches for the club.

He largely struggled to impact proceedings in England at both United and Arsenal but the 32-year-old is now very much enjoying his time with Roma.

Mkhitaryan has netted 11 goals and produced as many assists in 39 appearances across all competitions for the Serie A side this season.

And the attacking midfielder will be desperate to haunt his former club in Europe on Thursday, and put Roma in a commanding position heading into the second leg of their semi-final tie next week. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk