Ferdinand explains why Mourinho has had to axe Mkhitaryan

Rio Ferdinand believes the return of Paul Pogba has meant that Henrikh Mkhitaryan has had to be dropped at Manchester United.

Mkhitaryan, 28, was left out of the squad that defeated Newcastle 4-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday and the Armenian cut a lonely figure at training this week.

The midfielder travelled yo Switzerland for tonight’s Champions League clash with Basel but was omitted from the matchday squad with Scott McTominay preferred as a midfield option from the bench.

 

Jose Mourinho claimed Mkhitaryan’s omission against Newcastle was down to tactical reasons and the fact that he wanted to play Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford in the same team.

“The story is always the same. In some positions, when you don’t have injuries, you have lots of options in other positions,” said Mourinho.

“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?

“Micki is not playing because we had lots of options for that match. I decided to play Marcus Rashford and Martial together.

But Ferdinand, who labelled Mourinho “calculated”, believes the return of Pogba has meant that Mkhitaryan’s game time will now be limited.

“I think earlier in the season Mkhitaryan was providing assists,” Ferdinand told BT Sport.

“But importantly when Paul Pogba was out, Jose Mourinho wanted someone to be a creator, and to go out and take games by the scruff of the neck, but he didn’t produce in that sense. He was left wanting.”

Pogba’s return after a thigh problem against Newcastle coincided with the omission of Mkhitaryan, while the France midfielder also played in Basel, while Mkhitaryan watched from the stands. And Ferdinand is in no doubt about Pogba’s influence on the team with three goals and three assists in the Premier League from five games.

“Pogba’s such a huge player in terms of creativity. Romelu Lukaku needed someone to create for him, Pogba was doing it but Mkhitaryan wasn’t.

“Jose doesn’t mess about, he makes a decision and he sticks by it. He’s calculated in what he does,” added Ferdinand.