Henrikh Mkhitaryan surprised Chelsea chose to sell Nemanja Matic to United

MANCHESTER -- Henrikh Mkhitaryan admits he was surprised when Chelsea agreed to sell Nemanja Matic to Manchester United this summer -- but is glad they did.

Matic helped his new club to a 4-0 win over West Ham on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, 24 hours after champions Chelsea were beaten 3-2 by Burnley at Stamford Bridge.

Despite two goals from fellow new signing Romelu Lukaku, the Serbia international, who cost United £35 million, was named Man of the Match at Old Trafford.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has described the 29-year-old's departure as a "great loss," and Mkhitaryan feels it is United's gain.

"Actually I am [surprised]," Mkhitaryan said. "But at the same time I am very happy that we have got him.

"It was not only Matic. I want to mention as well the other two new signings, [Victor] Lindelof and Lukaku. They are very good players. They are, I think, Manchester United players.

"Matic does a big job on the pitch. He tries to recover all the balls. He defensively does a big job. Lukaku scored his goals and Lindelof is still going to have time to show himself. So I want to say all the players are good signings and they are going to help us a lot."

While Matic and Lukaku have made instant impacts at United, Mkhitaryan was forced to watch from the bench and the stands in the early stages of his Old Trafford career last season.

Mkhitaryan has since become central to Jose Mourinho's plans and against West Ham he started as the No. 10 behind Lukaku, a position he says is his best.

"I prefer to play as a No. 10 but if the manager thinks I'm helpful for the team playing on the wings I am happy to play on the wings. It doesn't matter," he said.

"It was a great win. I think we did a good start to the season. Now we have to keep going the same way. It is very important to win today. Why? Because we were playing a very good opponent -- West Ham. We know it is always hard to play against them. I think we did a great job."

United's victory over West Ham was their best start to a Premier League season since thrashing Fulham 5-1 in 2006.

It has created an optimism around Old Trafford that Mourinho can deliver a first title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 after finishes of seventh, fourth, fifth and sixth in the last four seasons.

Mkhitaryan added: "As a player and for a club, you are always going to have ups and downs. I think the last few years was a little bit down for the club but since last year, and this year, I hope it is going be up for the club.

"We are going to try to do our best to bring the club on the level it was at before. It is always hard but we will try and do our best."

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