Mkhitaryan denies bad blood with Mourinho

The Armenian midfielder signed from Borussia Dortmund in the summer for a fee of £26.3m, but has surprisingly been on the fringes of the Manchester United first team so far this season.

Mkhitaryan has made just two starts in the Premier League, one of which ended up with him being brought off at half-time in the Manchester derby.

The former Dortmund man also spent over six weeks out of the squad altogether in the Premier League, not featuring in England's top-flight between 9 October and 27 November.

However, despite a lack of first team football, Mkhitaryan has denied that there has been a rift between him and Jose Mourinho.

"There was no bad relation with him [Mourinho], it was always good but the problem wasn't him, it was me," he told 'Sky Sports News'.

"Now I understand why I have got my chance and I will keep it, I will hold it, because it is very important for me to play, to be a part of Manchester United.

"I was thinking that I would be here as a starting line-up player but when I arrived I saw that there were 25 players fighting for their place and I understood that it wasn't going to be easy.

"I had a bad game against Manchester City but that is in the past so I kept working. I have done a great job to get my chance back and I think I did it a really long way until I start playing".

On the positive side for the 27-year-old, he has enjoyed a recent run in the first team, starting against Feyenoord in the Europa League and Everton in the 1-1 draw on Sunday. Mkhitaryan now hopes that this can provide a turning point in his career at Old Trafford.

"I hope so because it is really very important to play in every game, doing your best, because if you are not going to do your best then you are not going to play in the next game.

"The manager has a lot of choice, he has five or six players in that position but I know that playing now I know what I have done bad in the past and what good I can do in the future. So I know how I can help the team and I will be doing my best".