Mkhitaryan Off the Mark, Miranyan Delivering: How the Week Went for Armenian Footballers Abroad

We continue our weekly column on Sportaran.com, where we подробно cover how Armenian footballers performed throughout the week — from Monday to Monday — across different countries around the world.

Main events of the week:

• Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored his first goal of the season
• Another productive match from Artur Miranyan
• The Argentine league season kicked off for several Armenian players
• A strong Europa League performance from Nair Tiknizyan
• Grant-Leon Ranos remained on the bench again

Armenian footballers in the past week (January 20–26)

Official matches

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Inter, Serie A)

Former Armenia national team captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan celebrated his 37th birthday this week and also scored his first goal of the current season.

• Jan 20 (Tuesday, Champions League) — Inter vs Arsenal (1:3)
  Mkhitaryan remained on the bench.

• Jan 23 (Friday, Serie A) — Inter vs Pisa (6:2)
  Played the full match and scored. SofaScore rating: 7.4

Nair Tiknizyan (Crvena Zvezda, Serbia)

The Serbian league has not resumed yet, but Tiknizyan already featured with his team in the Europa League. It was a successful outing for the club, and Tiknizyan delivered a solid performance.

• Jan 20 (Tuesday, Europa League) — Malmö vs Crvena Zvezda (0:1)
  Played the full match. SofaScore rating: 6.8

Grant-Leon Ranos (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bundesliga)

The Armenia international striker has yet to receive playing time in 2026, remaining on the bench in four consecutive matches.

• Jan 25 (Sunday, Bundesliga) — Borussia M’gladbach vs Stuttgart (0:3)
  Ranos stayed on the bench.

Artur Miranyan (Bnei Sakhnin, Israel)

The 30-year-old Armenia national team forward scored his fifth goal of the season this week and helped his team earn a point away from home.

• Jan 24 (Saturday, Israeli Premier League) — Ironi Tiberias vs Bnei Sakhnin (1:1)
  Played the full match and scored. SofaScore rating: 7.8 (best in the match)

Narek Grigoryan (Farul, Romanian Superliga)

Farul secured their first win in eight official matches.

• Jan 25 (Sunday, Romanian Superliga) — Petrolul vs Farul (0:1)
  Played 68 minutes. SofaScore rating: 6.3
  Grigoryan operated in an unfamiliar role as an attacking midfielder.

Styopa Mkrtchyan (Osijek, Croatia)

Osijek played their first match after the winter break and suffered a defeat, dropping to last place in the league.

• Jan 25 (Sunday, Croatian League) — Osijek vs Dinamo Zagreb (0:3)
  Started the match and was substituted at halftime. Despite the early substitution, he received one of the better ratings among the starters — 6.7 (SofaScore).

Georgiy Harutyunyan (Puskás Akadémia, Hungary)

The team lost their first match of 2026 and currently sit 5th in the league.

• Jan 24 (Saturday, Hungarian League) — Puskás Akadémia vs Paks (1:2)
  Came on in the 81st minute. SofaScore rating: 6.1

Norberto Briasco Balekian (Barracas, Argentina)

Began the season with a new team.

• Jan 24 (Saturday, Liga Profesional) — Barracas vs River Plate (0:1)
  Remained on the bench.

Lucas Zelarayán (Belgrano, Argentina)

Former Armenia international Lucas Zelarayán helped his team win in the opening round of the season against Ángel Di María’s club.

• Jan 25 (Sunday, Liga Profesional) — Rosario vs Belgrano (1:2)
  Played the full match. SofaScore rating: 6.8
  Created 2 big chances and made 3 key passes. His cousin Gonzalo Zelarayán stayed on the bench.

Tomás Adoryan (Banfield, Argentina)

Another Armenian footballer in Argentina started the season as a first-team player with a new contract.

• Jan 23 (Friday, Liga Profesional) — Banfield vs Huracán (1:1)
  Started, played 67 minutes, received a yellow card. SofaScore rating: 6.7

Wbeymar Angulo (Malut United, Indonesia)

The former Armenia national team and Armenian club player delivered another confident performance in Indonesia, where his team sits 4th in the table.

• Jan 24 (Saturday, Indonesian Super League) — Malut United vs Persik (4:0)
  Played the full match. SofaScore rating: 7.2, yellow card.
  Completed 62 of 63 passes (98%).

Solomon Udo (Al-Arabi, Saudi First Division)

• Jan 26 (Monday) — Al-Arabi vs Al-Faisaly (4:0)
  Played the full match.

Jordi Monroy Ararat (Deportivo Pereira, Colombia)

The 30-year-old player, long absent from Armenia national team call-ups, continues to perform consistently in Colombia.

• Jan 24 (Saturday, Primera A) — Pereira vs Fortaleza (0:0)
  Played the full match. SofaScore rating: 6.7

Finn Geragusyan (Sunderland U21, England)

The 18-year-old Armenia youth international striker again featured for Sunderland’s U21 side in Premier League 2.

• Jan 26 (Monday) — Wolves U21 vs Sunderland U21 (2:2)
  Started and played the first half.

Garabet Takesian (Egaleo, Greece)

The 19-year-old midfielder scored his first senior goal last round and this week came off the bench.

• Jan 25 (Sunday, Super League 2) — Olympiacos B vs Egaleo (2:1)
  Came on in the 65th minute.

Edgar Movsesyan (PAE Chania, Greece)

• Jan 25 (Sunday, Super League 2) — Panionios vs PAE Chania (3:0)
  Played the first half.

Airik Balasanov (Monopoli U19, Italy)

• Jan 24 (Saturday, Primavera 2 – B) — Monopoli U19 vs Empoli U19 (0:3)
  Entered the match in the 71st minute.

Albert Mnatsakanyan (Luftëtari, Albanian First Division)

• Jan 24 (Saturday) — Luftëtari vs Kukësi (3:1)
  Played the full match as a center-back and wore the captain’s armband in just his second game for the new club.

Friendly matches

Vaahan Bichakhchyan (Legia, Poland), Artem Bandikyan (CSKA, Russia), and others featured in friendlies. Armenian clubs also continue their training camps.

Noah defeated Polish side Lech (1:0), while Pyunik lost to Russian club Ural (2:3). Both Armenian teams are holding training camps in the UAE.