Inter midfielder Henrikh Hamlet Mkhitaryan has appeared in one Serie A match this season, earning a rating of 6.90 as Cristian Chivu's side climbed to second in the table with four wins from four and 12 points banked. The Armenian, who turned 37 in January, carries an AI overall of 74 out of 100 — a figure that captures both his continued relevance and the ceiling that age and squad competition impose.
The context around Mkhitaryan is not one of decline but of rationing. Inter have scored 13 goals and conceded six across those four matches, a return that suggests Chivu has found combinations that work and is reluctant to disturb them. A player who appears once in four rounds is not being discarded; he is being preserved, deployed selectively, held in reserve against a schedule that will inevitably demand rotation. The distinction matters, but it does not make the situation more comfortable for the man on the periphery.
What the data cannot tell us is whether Mkhitaryan's limited involvement reflects a tactical preference, a physical management plan, or simply the depth of a squad that Chivu has built around him. A 37-year-old midfielder with his profile is not a player a coach forgets; he is a player a coach uses carefully, which is its own kind of pressure.
The coming weeks will test that logic. Inter face Roma in what is shaping up as one of the early-season fixtures with genuine title implications, and Chivu's rotation decisions around that match will signal how much he trusts Mkhitaryan in high-stakes minutes rather than maintenance appearances. A rating of 6.90 from a single outing is a baseline, not a verdict.
At 37, Mkhitaryan's value to Inter is not measured in starts alone. It lives in the moments between them — in whether, when the squad needs experience and composure in a tight game, Chivu turns to him and gets what he needs. One appearance into the season, that question is still open.