Henrikh Mkhitaryan's long winter at Old Trafford has gotten a little colder, as Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho clearly laid out where the Armenia international stands after failing to make the match-day squad in seven of the club's last eight fixtures.
With Mkhitaryan last featuring as a substitute against Brighton on Nov. 25, Mourinho pointed out that other players are more deserving of a spot in both the United starting XI and the match-day bench.
"I can only have six (outfield) players on the bench and I try to have some balance on the bench," Mourinho told the club's official website. "(Against Bournemouth) I had two defenders and (Daley) Blind, who can play in different areas. I had Ashley Young to cover all of the wing and the wing-back position.
"I had (Ander) Herrera as a midfield player, Zlatan (Ibrahimovic) as a striker, and Marcus (Rashford) as a second striker and winger. I played (Anthony) Martial, (Juan) Mata, and (Jesse) Lingard in the team. To have Micki means that I don't have one of them and, in this moment, I believe the other ones, they deserve (the chance to play)."
Mkhitaryan has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League since joining Manchester United for the 2016-17 season. He has been limited to just 16 appearances, scoring two goals and recording five assists. He failed to add to those tallies in his last eight appearances, though.