United not giving up on Premier League, says Mkhitaryan

Manchester United have not given up hope of winning the Premier League as Henrikh Mkhitaryan eyes trophies in 2017.

Heading into the Boxing Day clash against Sunderland at Old Trafford, United are sixth in the table and 13 points adrift of leaders Chelsea.

But with 21 matches remaining, Mkhitaryan said his team-mates are still dreaming of silverware.

“My wishes are for the team to have the best year possible – for Manchester United, for the players and for the fans,” Mkhitaryan told The Times of India.

“I hope we have an amazing season and fight for all the titles. Hopefully, in 2017, we can win some trophies. But United are a long way behind the leaders at the moment.

“We haven’t given up yet, we’re not saying we are out of the competition. There are a lot of games remaining, especially at this time of year, so we’re trying to do our best to be in the top four.

“And, of course, in the Europa League we’re going to try and go as far as we can.”

Having struggled to initially convince manager Jose Mourinho following his big-money arrival from Borussia Dortmund in the off-season, Mkhitaryan is now thriving in Manchester.

Mkhitaryan scored in the Europa League win over Zorya earlier in December, and he netted the only goal in United’s victory against Tottenham three days later before missing back-to-back Premier League games due to injury.

Asked if he was ever worried that he would not force his way back into Mourinho’s calculations, the Armenia captain said: “No, because I was trying to do my best in training to earn a place to play. You have to earn it.

“It doesn’t matter if the club bought me for £40m, I knew that I am not guaranteed to play. Even when you are selected you many not play every game, depending on the tactical situation and the opponent.”