At 37, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is no longer being asked to carry Inter through every Sunday afternoon. Instead, Cristian Chivu has found a more precise use for one of the squad’s most experienced figures: preserve him, call on him when the match needs clarity, and trust that his first contribution can alter the course of the evening.
The Armenian midfielder has made that role count over the past week. In Bologna, his imaginative pass released Carlos Augusto, who then set up Bonny for Inter’s third goal in a 3-1 win. A few days later at San Siro, Mkhitaryan again sent Carlos Augusto through, this time allowing the Brazilian to finish the decisive goal against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. That result has kept Inter’s hopes of direct qualification for the round of 16 alive.
Those moments have arrived despite a sharply reduced workload. Mkhitaryan stands near the bottom of Inter’s squad for total minutes, ahead only of Stanovic, the recently returned Spence and the injured Stones. It is a deliberate management plan rather than a loss of standing. His muscles are being protected after a long career, so that he can enter games with enough freshness to offer a telling pass or a calm decision when the contest opens up.
An example within the group
Mkhitaryan’s career has taken him from Armenia through Ukraine, Germany and England before his years in Italy. Across those stages, he has built a reputation for discipline, training habits and respect for the dressing room. Inter decided last summer that such qualities still had value, extending his contract at a time when the former Manchester United and Arsenal player was seriously considering retirement.
Chivu was instrumental in encouraging him to continue, and the Inter coach has already seen the return. “His experience and professionalism give us so much,” Chivu said. “The way he trains and behaves makes him an example for everyone. This group needs someone like him.”
Nicolò Barella offered a similar assessment after the Shakhtar match, saying Mkhitaryan improves with age and remains a fixed point for the team. “Whenever he comes on, he gives everything,” the Italian midfielder said.
Inside the Inter dressing room, Mkhitaryan has been nicknamed the Armenian who “runs like a train”, a fitting description for a player whose impact is now measured less by accumulation of minutes than by the value of individual interventions. If this proves to be his final professional season, Inter are ensuring that each appearance has a purpose. For a side negotiating Serie A and Europe, his influence has not disappeared with age; it has simply become more carefully timed.
