Mkhitaryan takes all three places in Manchester United's Goal of the Month competition

Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not enjoy the best of starts to his Manchester United career, but he has been making up for lost time in recent weeks.

The Red Devils spent big over the summer to lure the talented playmaker away from Borussia Dortmumd.

He was expected to make a positive impact in English football, but struggled initially to force his way into Jose Mourinho’s plans.

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A first Premier League start was only made in mid-September, and Mkhitaryan was hauled off at half-time during a derby defeat to Manchester City.

He was not seen again for a couple of months, while his next top-flight outing came on November 27.

By then, Mourinho had heeded calls to give the Armenian more of a chance and saw that show of faith rewarded throughout December.

Mkhitaryan enjoyed a breakthrough month as his form and confidence returned, with three goals in successive fixtures seeing him dominate United’s Goal of the Month award.

Filling all three spots is some going by Mkhitaryan, but then his efforts were all pretty memorable.

Congratulations to @HenrikhMkh - his incredible kick against Sunderland is the #MUFC Goal of the Month for December! pic.twitter.com/xuIkl2oFXg

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 12, 2017

A solo strike against Zorya Luhansk in the Europa League got him up and running, before a fine finish against Tottenham at Old Trafford helped to settle a crucial Premier League contest.

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The 27-year-old saved the best for last, though, with an incredible scorpion kick against Sunderland earning him 79 per cent of the vote in the monthly poll.

Mkhitaryan’s effort were not enough to see him edge out Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the Player of the Month vote, with the Swede topping his achievements with six goals, but early struggles have been put to one side as United look to press ahead on multiple fronts in 2017.