Henrikh Mkhitaryan Could Be the Star Turn in Jose Mourinho's Manchester United

The Jose Mourinho era has officially begun at Manchester United, and one of the star performers in Saturday's 2-0 friendly win over Wigan Athletic was new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

In an otherwise disjointed first half, Mkhitaryan showed the combination of skill and decision-making that made him such a threat in the Bundesliga last season. He may have missed a presentable chance, but his all-around showing was remarkably impressive.

Felix Keith of Squawka named the Armenian as one of United's five best performers on the day.

"An early through ball for Memphis [Depay] and an interchange with [Jesse] Lingard showed his eye for a pass," Keith wrote. "Skied a finish at the back-post but was by a distance United's best player in the first half. A promising performance from the former Dortmund man."

Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News awarded him seven out of 10 in his post-match ratings, writing: "An encouraging 45 minutes from the Armenian. Slick, quick and showed good awareness as United's playmaker. Wayne Rooney could be in trouble."

And it was wearing Rooney's No. 10 shirt—though the commentators on MUTV were at pains to point out the shirt numbers worn on Saturday were not representative of the plans for this season's final squad numbers—that he looked every inch the creative force United so badly lacked last season.

Of course, there are vital caveats here. This was a pre-season friendly against a Championship side. Mkhitaryan was one of seven players substituted at half-time. Mourinho's touchline intensity belied a desire to see his men get the job done, but the priority was obviously to build fitness.

The opposition were neither of a particularly high standard nor in their own match rhythm. Things will be harder for the former Borussia Dortmund man once the season gets underway.

But if this kind of performance can be something like the norm, then United have bought a player who could be a true catalyst for their attack. And in truth, this performance is indicative of the level of form he showed, as he scored 11 goals and provided 15 assists in the Bundesliga in 2015/16.

How many times last season were the Red Devils crying out for someone to provide a killer ball through a tight defence? How often did their attack look unbalanced, either in terms of style or quality?

On the left was Anthony Martial, all silky skills, incisive running and apparently boundless potential. On the right, though, was an out-of-position Juan Mata, who offered a different sort of threat and was less physically demanding to deal with for defenders.

Behind the striker was mostly either Wayne Rooney or Jesse Lingard, neither of whom provided the kind of creativity United needed. This season, together with fellow newcomer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan will considerably change the dynamic of United's front four.

After all, he averaged 3.8 key passes per 90 minutes in league games he started on Dortmund's right last season, attempting five dribbles per 90 from that position. Some of that dribbling was on show in impressive fashion against Wigan, as he used some neat close control to find space in the Latics' crowded defence.

And his numbers compare favourably with Mata, who averaged 1.6 key passes per 90 from wide on United's right in the league last season and made 1.4 attempts to beat a man.

Of course, Dortmund's attack as a whole was not dysfunctional in the way United's was, and Mata's numbers are partly as unspectacular as they are because he was so clearly being played out of position. Nonetheless, Mkhitaryan offers a different kind of threat.

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Replacing the Armenia international at No. 10 against Wigan, Mata was in decent form, described by Luckhurst as "bright and enterprising." He earned one of the easiest assists of his career for Will Keane's opener, when Jussi Jaaskelainen passed him the ball rather than clearing it.

He deserves some credit for being composed enough to slot a pass to Keane rather than blasting an attempt himself, but it was an easy chance.

One of the interesting questions the lineup of this friendly poses is whether Mourinho will look to Mkhitaryan as a regular option at No. 10. It has been a long time since Rooney has looked like a top-level option in that role, and United's new manager showed in no uncertain terms in his last spell at Chelsea that Mata is not his preferred choice.

Mkhitaryan at 10 seems an attractive possibility in games Ibrahimovic starts up front. The Ibrahimovic-Rooney or Ibrahimovic-Mata axes would seem a little slow. If Marcus Rashford plays at centre-forward, that is less of an issue, but playing Mkihitaryan behind Ibrahimovic makes a lot of sense.

That would leave a spot to fill on the right—that duty was carried out by Jesse Lingard against Wigan, and Rashford had a couple of games there under Louis van Gaal. Neither of those seems an ideal choice, so Mkhitaryan might find the right flank he so ably prowled for Dortmund is his regular home at Old Trafford too.

There were a couple of other notable performances as players looked to impress their new boss. Ander Herrera was busy and effective in United's midfield, and new signing Eric Bailly looked assured—taking the time to pull off a nice bit of skill during an outing in which he was rarely troubled.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah started at right-back and showed the kind of defensive ability and technique on the ball that make him such a promising player. And speaking of young players, Mourinho was full of praise for the 18-year-old Axel Tuanzebe's impressive late cameo, per Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News:

His management of youngsters will be under the microscope given the conflict between his reputation and United's when it comes to developing talent.

Another youngster, the 20-year-old Andreas Pereira, scored a fine goal in the second half, and his overall play was at least as impressive. Playing in an unfamiliar deep-lying midfield role for the second half, he pulled the strings as United dominated possession. It was a performance that will have caught his manager's attention.

Indeed, there could be a role for Pereira in United's new-look attack, either at No. 10 himself or wide on the right. It would certainly be a bold option, one that could put the noses of some of the Red Devils' established stars out of joint. But the old way has not been working, so some radical change would not go amiss.

But even if Mourinho does not go that far, Mkhitaryan's arrival provides a radical change in itself. He represents a marked upgrade on the options Van Gaal had available to him, and Mourinho can probably be more trusted to get the best out of a creative and improvisational talent like the Armenian.

A run-out at Wigan does not tell us anything definitive, of course. But pre-season is a time for optimism, and it was an exciting and positive development to see Mkhitaryan in a United shirt.

It will be fascinating to see what transpires as he links up with those players who are not yet back from their summer breaks. This pre-season and the early goings of the season will tell us a great deal about what he has to offer. So far, it looks like he will be one of the key pieces of Jose Mourinho's new Manchester United puzzle.

Advanced data per WhoScored.com.