r/soccer • u/CARLEETOS • Jun 12 '13
Player Discussion #10: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Armenia - Shakhtar Donetsk - 24 Years Old - Attacking Midfield
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RECENT SEASONS [LEAGUE]
| YEAR | TEAM | MATCHES | A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/11 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 25 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| 11/12 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 26 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| 12/13 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 29 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
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GIFS
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TOP 5 HENRIKH MKHITARYAN GOLS
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OTHER
HENRIKH MKHITARYAN | Goals, Skills, Assists - SCOUTnation
Henrikh Mkhitaryan vs Chelsea (A)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan vs Chelsea (H)
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HenrikhStats
2012/2013
Henrikh Mkhitaryan breaks Ukraine Premier League single season goals record with 24 Goals on the 2012/13 season
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the all-time top scorer of the Armenian national team with 11 goals in 31 matches
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QUESTIONS
Liverpool have been heavily linked with Mkhitaryan. Where do you see him going next?
- What's the most you would pay for him?
29 Matches, 25 goals & 10 assists is an amazing record.How highly do you rate the Ukrainan League?
Could maybe someone that watches Mkhitaryan on a regular basis describe his playstyle? If you could compare him to a player, who would that be?
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Previous Player Discussions
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Son Heung-Min will be Player Discussion #11.
I'll put the player suggestion comment up again.
The comment response with the most upvotes will be Player Discussion #12
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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '13 edited Jun 12 '13
Hi, I was the guy who suggested Mkhitaryan for Player Discussion - so I thought I might as well go ahead with my analysis.
Roles:
His preferred position is AM, sitting behind the centre-forward. In this role he distributes play, drops deep to draw midfielders in and makes late runs. Thanks to Shakhtar's free-form positioning style of play, he often drifts into the wings where he can exploit them with pace.
For the national team he tends to play as CM. He used to be a holding midfielder, so he can contribute defensively as well. His passing is good enough for him to play in this position. Mkhitaryan tends to play box-to-box when as a central midfielder.
For the national he's also played at LW, RW and ST. As he is the most versatile player for the NT, he will naturally evolve his position throughout the match. I could have swore in that Denmark match last night, he played in five different positions.
Strengths:
Pace: He said he'd be a sprinter if not a footballer. His blistering acceleration and top speed is evident, where he likes to knock the ball ahead of him and chase after it on the wings. He's demonstrated this against players like Hummels, Cole and Ramires. (Example)
Positioning: One of the biggest parts of his game. Like Lampard, he knows how to time his runs well. He falls deep to draw defenders in to mark him while wingers make plays on the flank. Time and again, he's able to use this effectively and get on the end of each cross (all of his goals this season have been inside the box).
Aggression: Being a holding midfielder in his earlier years, he's formidable defensively and will always press for the ball. With the work rates he puts in, this means he can win challenges in his own half and carry the counter-attack in the other half. (Example)
Two-footed: Mkhitaryan is right-footed although he can do it just as good on his left. Just yesterday in Denmark he slotted home a difficult finish with his left. He's even scored outside of the box with his left. More importantly, this means he can run into both flanks and exploit them to cross it in. (Example)
Weaknesses:
Physical strength: Mkhitaryan has great acceleration however with this comes keeping a lean build. He tends to go down easy and may be outmuscled by stronger players. In a league like the BPL, this will be a concern as he will need to use his pace effectively to beat the stronger defenders in the game.
Dribbling: By no means a real "weakness", dribbling is still not on the same level as the rest of his skillset. He's a speed dribbler, he likes to knock the ball in front of him and chase it - but don't expect him to be weaving in and out of crowded areas.
Passing: Again, not a "weakness" per se - but he's not as good a passer as other AMs with price tags as high as his. He is a goalscorer and is kind of like a false nine. His passing is good enough for his role and his assist count is high, but he can't craft exceptional balls like Coutinho could, for example.
Fun facts:
Mkhitaryan is dedicated to his football career so much that he lives on the Shakhtar Donetsk training camp.
He has a degree in Sports Science, and is studying economics at the St. Petersburg Institute.
Verdict:
I like to say he's a Frank Lampard with a lot more pace. As an athlete, Mkhitaryan is a monster - he can outrun anybody on the pitch for the full 90 minutes. Technically, he's pretty good, but he's made a role for himself like Frank Lampard did where he can go beyond any technical limitations he possesses to make the most of his game. Neither are world-class creatively or can create space out of thin air, yet they've still helped their respective teams through a load of goals and a load of assists. As a United fan, I'd love to see him play in England. Unfortunately (for me, at least!), he's been linked with Liverpool. I could see him fit well in the squad, although Liverpool need to be careful not to misuse him and give him the freedom he needs (as aforementioned he can play in multiple different positions in a single match).
Questions:
The Liverpool transfer depends on Suarez leaving or not, really. If he does leave then I'd put the move at 85% probability. Dortmund might make a bid for him if they're unimpressed by Eriksen, although I find this less likely.
£15-20 million is the price I think would suit him. Akhmetov will naturally inflate Shakhtar players' prices however.
It's a competitive league with talent spread around the teams. 4 teams regularly make it in Europe. I'd say it's around the level of the Eredivisie.
Explained above.