‘Comfortable’ Mkhitaryan ready to face familiar foes

Mkhitaryan, 32, spent 18 months with the Red Devils between 2016 and 2018 – winning three trophies during that period, including the Europa League in 2017.

Now, however, he is hoping to get one over on some of his old friends and achieve the same feat with the Giallorossi this season.

“We’re the only club in Italy left in Europe,” Mkhitaryan told The Athletic.

“It’s made our weekly routine harder because we’re playing three games a week and our opponents are only playing once. But we’re not complaining.

“We know there are only three games left (in the Europa League) so we have to fight and get the best out of ourselves. If we win the trophy we can qualify for the Champions League automatically.”

Mkhitaryan has been one of the star performers for Roma this season, with 18 goals and assists to his credit already in all competitions.

“I’ve been performing well,” Mkhitaryan said. “Why? It’s down to the way we play. I’m very comfortable with this system.

“We’re playing very attacking football with a lot of space up front. It was the same (at my old clubs) Shakhtar Donetsk and Borussia Dortmund.”

The forward also offered some tactical insight into the system being employed this season.

“We play in a different way against different teams, especially when we have the ball,” he said.

“Sometimes [the 10s in Roma’s 3-4-2-1] have to be inside and sometimes we have to be wide. It depends on the game and the situation. It’s not about [the position] where you start the game, it’s about the space so we’re trying to use that space to create chances for us and our team-mates.

“The most important thing is the connection between the players because if you have the connection you can do different things. If you don’t have it, it’s going to be a bit hard.

“I won’t tell you exactly how we’re playing every time!”

Click here to read the full interview.