For Mkhitaryan it’s like going home

– Trips to Russia have been seen as complicated assignments for English clubs, but Henrikh Mkhitaryan (right) will have little trouble acclimatising when Manchester United visit CSKA Moscow tonight.

The speedy attacking midfielder was born in Yerevan in January 1989 when the Armenian capital was still part of the Soviet Union.

He speaks fluent, accent-free Russian, the legacy both of a maternal grandmother from Moscow and the four years he spent in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk with first Metalurg and then Shakhtar.

United tackle CSKA at VEB Arena in the Champions League on Wednesday, looking to build on their 3-0 home win over Basel in their opening Group A fixture.

Moscow

Mkhitaryan, 28, scored on their previous visit to Russia in March, his away goal at FC Rostov paving the way for a 2-1 aggregate win in the Europa League last-16.

The former Borussia Dortmund player proved something of a lucky charm for United.

His six goals in the tournament included one in each leg of the quarterfinal against Anderlecht and the predatory close-range finish, early in the second half, that rubberstamped their 2-0 win over Ajax in the final in Stockholm.

“The game of my life was last season’s Europa League final,” he said.

“That’s because it was the first European trophy for me and the first one ever for an Armenian footballer.” –