UK Edition
In Henrikh Mkhitaryan have Manchester United finally found the No 10 they have been craving?
The post-Sir Alex Ferguson era has been a testing time at Old Trafford, one of adaptation and change that has seen the 20-time top flight champions struck down from their previous perch.
The early signs this season, however, suggest that Manchester United could be edging nearer to something resembling recovery.
The dip experienced under David Moyes was followed by the drear of Louis van Gaal's reign, and even the football played in Jose Mourinho's relatively trophy-laden first season was a far cry from the United of old.
We are only two games into the new season, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. United have won two matches by the same admittedly impressive 4-0 scoreline, but both came against limited opposition who are still seeking further signings before the transfer window closes.
That said, United are unquestionably looking stronger than they have done since Ferguson left.
Fergie was a master of getting the most out of his players. Look at the team in his final season at Old Trafford: Tom Cleverley, Anderson, Rafael, Ashley Young and Nani led United to the title.
But since, United have been desperate for a creator to drag this team back into England's elite. Paul Pogba was signed for a record fee but his creative talents were left limited by Mourinho's strangling game-plan. Juan Mata has been at United long enough and had enough chances that he could have proven himself in the No 10 role by now - but hasn't. Ander Herrera isn't quite that kind of player; Shinji Kagawa and Angel Di Maria came and went; Marouane Fellaini still sometimes plays behind the striker but, well, is Marouane Fellaini.
For Henrikh Mkhitaryan, there was an opening during the off-season, and it was telling that Mourinho decided against - and never even looked like - trying to sign another creative midfielder.
The Armenian spent the start of his first season at Old Trafford on the bench, and then, when he finally proved himself worthy of a starting berth he was shunted around the frontline. Over the course of last season, of Mkhitaryan's 15 Premier League starts, seven were on the right, four were on the left, just three were in the No 10 position and one was in an experimental centre-forward role. He made just one assist all season.
Fast forward to this year, and the contrast is already stark.
Mkhitaryan has played two games out of two in his preferred position centrally behind the striker. He has four assists in those two games - three more than he managed in the whole of last season.
In the event that he were to repeat his performances and pick up two more assists against Leicester this weekend, he would become the first player in Premier League history to record two assists in three consecutive matches.
He has also created nine chances in two games this season, having laid on 29 over the course of 24 appearances in the league in the entirety of 2016/17. This is the player who was left on the bench while Wayne Rooney toiled in the No 10 role less than a year ago.
Much of the focus so far this season has been on how Nemanja Matic has liberated Pogba, but United's new system has also allowed Mkhitaryan a freedom with which he is thriving.
The most assists registered by a United player in a season since Ferguson left is 10, achieved by Rooney in 2013/14 and Di Maria in 2014/15. Incredibly, no other Manchester United player has managed more than six assists in any of the four campaigns post-Fergie. Mkhitaryan is well on his way to topping all of those numbers this season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, recently re-signed for United, reckons this is a big year for Mkhitaryan.
“I think this season will be the season of Mkhitaryan because this season he has opened fantastic," Ibrahimovic said. "I think people underestimate him because he doesn’t have the name like the other ones in the world.”
Perhaps unfairly, Mkhitaryan may well be undervalued outside Old Trafford.
United have been crying out for someone to make this team tick, and it looks like Mourinho is close to finding something like the right formula. Mkhitaryan is right at the heart of it all.