<strong>Sports Fans Question Why Henrikh Mkhitaryan Missed Out On Top 10 List</strong>
The omission of Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Armenia’s 2016 top 10 list of Armenian sporting stars has caused controversy amongst sports fans. International sports news site ESPN FC revealed that the list was drawn up and decided by the Federation of Sports Journalists of Armenia. Henrikh Mkhitaryan is considered Armenia’s top footballer player and is the national team's captain. He currently is now playing in the Premier League for Manchester United. The Guardian reports that many have questioned the decision to leave him off the list as the same panel of journalists also voted him Armenia’s footballer of the year for the seventh year in a row. In response to the criticism the president of the Football Federation of Armenia, Ruben Hayrapetyan, defended the journalists choice to leave the Armenian captain out. According to the Guardian, Hayrapetyan said “it’s immoral that the overwhelming majority of sport journalists, who have taken part in the same voting, start their professional business with news about Henrikh Mkhitaryan and end it again with Henrikh Mkhitaryan every single day.” Despite the presidents explanation it is easy to see why many have questioned the choice. Since transferring to Manchester United for an estimated £26 million last summer, the Armenian international midfielder is only just beginning to shine at Old Trafford after a difficult start. Esteemed football journalist Kevin Hatchard, who writes for Premier League site Betfair, applauded Mkhitaryan's playmaking in United’s 4-0 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League. The creative winger has also started to contribute some impressive performances in the Premier League, with manager Jose Mourinho believing that fans will see the best of Mkhitaryan in the second half of the season now he has regained full fitness after a string of recent injuries. Henrikh Mkhitaryan topped off 2016 with one of the best goals of the season against Sunderland in December. Mkhitaryan managed to flick the ball from behind him into the net after Zlatan Ibrahimovic had crossed it into the box. Despite being just offside, the goal was a superb demonstration of his skills. Mkhitaryan told the Telegraph that “it’s the best goal I’ve ever scored. I’m very excited. I was expecting the ball in front of me but I was already in front of it. I got the ball behind me so the only thing I could do was to hit it with the back of my heel. I did and I succeeded.” Manchester’s United’s fans have clearly taken to the player and he was nominated alongside Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba as Manchester United’s December player of the month. Ibrahimovic won, yet in an interview with ManUtd.com the striker praised his fellow nominees, “I mean, when you play with players like that, that are always around the top. They always want to win, always train very hard and have a great spirit and mentality. They’re growing after every game and I would be more than happy if they are nominated every month.” The list of the top 10 Armenian sportsmen is on U1+ with the top spot going to Olympic wrestling star Artur Aleksanyan for the third time in a row. Aleksanyan won the Men’s Greco-Roman 98kg gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. With Manchester United improving on their recent form, they may well add to their trophy collection this campaign. Thus, it could only be a matter of months before Mkhitaryan is back on the list.
