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#3 Mkhitaryan misfiring – Lack of a solid playmaker
However, the responsibility for dwindling number of chances does not rest solely on the full-backs. Mkhitaryan arrived from Dortmund in 2016, with much fanfare.
A player that provided 34 assists in a single season at the BVB, he was provided with the responsibility to be the creative brain behind the striker and propel the team to Premier League greatness.
In the early part of the season, he provided 5 assists and scored a goal to prove why Mourinho went out to buy him. In his first seven league outings for the Red Devils, he created a total of 22 chances. In the following four league fixtures, he could only create 2.
The Armenian manages only 39.5 passes per game on average compared to the City duo of David Silva (82.1) and Kevin De Bryune’s (76.4) on average per game.
For a player whose main role is to create chances and provide opportunities, that is an extremely low level of involvement with the team. Incidentally, both Silva (2.6) and De Bruyne (2.9) have more key passes per game than Mkhitaryan (2.1).
This goes on to show why Manchester City has been so dominant in their performances, while United lags behind their city rivals with an 8 point difference.
Mkhitaryan’s recent dip in form has also revealed his frailties in possession as he loses the ball far too often. Even getting possession is a problem for him as he was outplayed by Christian Ericksen (88 touches against Mkhitaryan’s 49) in the match against Tottenham, and by Philippe Coutinho (68 touches against Mkhitaryan’s 44) in the match against Liverpool.
As such, without Paul Pogba, continuously pushing the ball forward, the Armenian has retracted back into his shell leaving the Old Trafford outfit without a solid playmaker.
Stats are courtesy of WhoScored.com, Squawka.com, and PremierLeague.com
