Why Mkhitaryan Is Dortmund's Most Disappointing Player so Far in 2014/15 Season

The 2014-15 season has been abysmal for Borussia Dortmund, who despite being alive and well in the DFB-Pokal and Champions League, were lucky not to finish the first half of the campaign dead last in the Bundesliga table.

There are many reasons for BVB’s woes, and it would be easy to pick out individuals who have not been up to par. Not one of the quartet of World Cup winners (Mats Hummels, Erik Durm, Kevin Grosskreutz and Matthias Ginter) has played like a world champion, at least not on a slightly consistent basis.

Ilkay Gundogan still hasn't got back to his once world-class standards. New signings Ciro Immobile, Adrian Ramos and Shinji Kagawa have failed to add much of anything to the Dortmund attack. However, the most disappointing BVB player of all has been Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

It would be too easy to pick on any of the newcomers, but it’s expected that even star players will struggle a bit upon moving to a new team, league and country. Mkhitaryan has now been in Dortmund for 18 months and still hasn’t fulfilled the potential that saw him command a club-record €27.5 million transfer fee from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Since scoring in the DFB-Superpokal, Mkhitaryan has scored and assisted just one goal apiece in 19 Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal appearances. For a player as talented as he is, one who scored 25 in the Ukrainian Premier League two seasons ago, that return is simply atrocious.

Mkhitaryan was regarded as something of a flop even last season, with his inability to finish costing Dortmund dearly in the Champions League quarter-finals. But even then he at least had a decent return of goals. He couldn’t make a difference when it mattered most but could still help decide lesser games, and by season’s end, he had recorded 13 goals and 10 assists in 43 appearances.

The Armenian has, however, taken a step back since the beginning of the current campaign. Now, not only does he fail in big moments, he just doesn’t make a lasting impact in ordinary Bundesliga matches.

It’s not that Mkhitaryan is lazy or has a lack of desire. He often gets himself in positions to create goals, but he has very rarely been able to finish or play the final ball accurately this season. He lost a lot of confidence by failing to convert at key moments last season, and it seems that has had a snowball effect into the current campaign.

In this regard, perhaps it is a blessing in disguise Mkhitaryan injured himself and missed the last few games of the fall campaign. At the time, the pressure on him was immense, and he didn't look likely to overcome it at any point soon. He'll be back in January and will have had plenty of time to reflect, recharge and find his resolve.

If he indeed can find his nerve, Mkhitaryan has all the qualities of a big contributor. He's had plenty of chances (63 shots in all competitions, per ESPN), and Jurgen Klopp recently backed the Armenian, per the official Dortmund website, claiming his time will come.

Mkhitaryan should be wary, though, if he does not step up his game soon. BVB have signed Kevin Kampl, and the Slovenian is a direct competitor for one of the starting spots in the Dortmund midfield. If Mkhitaryan does not start taking his chances, Klopp's patience could run out.

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