Chris Smalling opens up about Henrikh Mkhitaryan at Man United

Chris Smalling has praised Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the big impact he has had at Manchester United in recent weeks following his sluggish start to life at Old Trafford.

The Armenia international initially struggled to make much of an impact at Manchester United after he joined the Red Devils from Borussia Dortmund in the summer transfer window.

However, Mkhitaryan has been in much improved form for the Red Devils in recent weeks and has been named man of the match on more than one occasion since the turn of the year.

And Smalling has been thoroughly impressed by the way Mkhitaryan has adapted to life at Manchester United in recent weeks, revealing that he is a handful to keep quiet in training.

Smalling told United Review: “As a player, he is very unpredictable. Every player in the world knows who Henrikh Mkhitaryan is. But it is one thing to know him and another to deal with him. I am lucky that he is on our team and I am not playing against him.”

He added: “He had missed a few games but he came back and had an instant impact like he had never been away. It is great to have such great attacking options and Micki has been brilliant for us, because he is a threat that is very hard to defend against.”

Manchester United return to Premier League action after the international break when the host West Brom at Old Trafford on Saturday 1 April. The Red Devils are fifth in the table.