Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan believes Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was the reason why he failed at Old Trafford, citing the defensive philosophy of the Portuguese coach as “quite different” to what he prefers.

The 28-year-old joined Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 and went on to make 63 appearances in all competitions. However, he struggled for form which often drew criticism from Mourinho.

Mkhitaryan joined Arsenal in January 2018, in a deal which saw Alexis Sanchez moving in the opposite direction, and he’s been adamant that the attacking philosophy of Arsene Wenger is better suited to his talents.

“Everyone knows Arsenal play offensive football, and I love to play offensive football. In Manchester we were playing offensive football too but not in every game, so it was quite different,” he said to Sky Sports.

“I don’t want to blame anyone because every manager at every club has a different philosophy. Maybe I couldn’t fit perfectly in the Manchester football.”

The Armenian international has made five appearances for Arsenal. He has a lot of attacking players around him in Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and will hope to fare better than he did in Manchester.

Having been the Bundesliga Player of the Year upon his move to England, there’s a feeling the best hasn’t come from Mkhitaryan since he left Germany, but Arsenal’s offensive nature could see him excel.

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Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan believes Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was the reason why he failed at Old Trafford, citing the defensive philosophy of the Portuguese coach as “quite different” to what he prefers. The 28-year-old joined Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 and went on to make 63...