Zlatan Ibrahimovic has ability and talent to burn. Ever since he burst on to the stage at Malmo, everybody knew that.

What has surprised a lot of people at Manchester United has been how willing a man who glories in his arrogance and individuality has been to hand out help and advice. To be part of a team.

The United manager, Jose Mourinho, remarked that in the canteen at the Carrington training complex, his players would often crowd around Ibrahimovic asking him about aspects of the game. The player was always happy to talk.

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The reason, Ibrahimovic said, after scoring both goals in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Southampton, lies in his children – Max who is nine and eight-year-old Vincent.

“The more mature you become – and I have two kids now – you take on a lot more responsibility,” he said. “I have my responsibility now. The coach gives me a lot of responsibility and I take it.

“I am just myself and I am trying to help all the other ones. Outside the pitch and in the media, people judge me before they know me. What they write doesn’t bother me because it goes in one ear and out the other.

Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Show all 11 1 /11 Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba David De Gea Has been Manchester United’s best player for the last four or five seasons and, after having a move to Real Madrid collapse last summer he is now more important than ever. He saved United repeatedly under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal and will hope under Jose Mourinho that there is less to do. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Matteo Darmian A good player whose first season at Old Trafford was badly affected by injuries, Darmian should improve next year under the guidance of Mourinho. He has played for a similarly prescriptive coach for Italy in Antonio Conte and will provide exactly what Mourinho wants in the role. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Chris Smalling One of United’s most improved players under Louis van Gaal, he established a leadership and consistency that he had lacked before. Now he is near the peak of his powers and gives Mourinho someone to build around at the back. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Eric Bailly The first of Mourinho’s summer signings, the £30million man from Villarreal has looked good in pre-season already. Will need to adjust to the speed of the Premier League but looks well equipped to do that and form a strong pairing with Smalling. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Luke Shaw Had his last season ruined by a broken leg against PSV Eindhoven and without him United lacked pace and width down the left. Mourinho will like his competitive attitude and Shaw will surely feature in Sam Allardyce’s England squads soon enough. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Morgan Schneiderlin Mourinho teams always have a midfield anchor, what he calls a ‘number 6’, and there is no-one better suited to the job at United now than Schneiderlin. Did not play as much as he should have done last year but that should change now. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Paul Pogba The big issue for Mourinho will be where to fit in the £100million man. There will be times when he plays alongside Schneiderlin in a 4-2-3-1, when United can afford to attack more, and others where he is pushed further up with two midfielders behind him. Finding the perfect platform will be Mourinho’s hardest task. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Henrikh Mkhitaryan Not the highest profile summer signing at Old Trafford but a technical wizard who excelled in his three seasons at Borussia Dortmund, which is why Arsenal wanted him too. Likelier to be on the right of a 4-2-3-1, where he will provide creativity and intelligence. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Wayne Rooney Mourinho said very clearly that Rooney will not play in midfield this season for United, so he will have to partner with Zlatan Ibrahimovic up front. Rooney will likely start as a second striker or number 10, but has a job to prove that he is still sharp enough for the job. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Anthony Martial Never looked weighed down by his fee last season and showed pace, class and natural calm in front of goal. Likely to continue on the left this season where he will provide pace on the break, as long as he does the defending Mourinho demands too. Getty Manchester United's best XI with Paul Pogba Zlatan Ibrahimovic One final challenge for the big Swede who has won the league everywhere else he has played. Still has incredible strength and skill, even if he will be one of the slower strikers at the top this year. Just needs to find a way to be a focal point for his team-mates. Getty

“What is important is what the guys in the team think about me. That is the most important thing. If I can help them, then I will and I think I can help them even more.

"The team has done well and I think we can do much more but this was just our second game in the Premier League and a lot of things are new. We have a new coach, new staff, some new players. It is a puzzle and we need to put that puzzle together and make it work. We have played two games and got six points and I think the outcome will be good."

He remarked that he knew what it was to be a young player at a vast club. He was 23 when he made his move from Ajax to Juventus.

“I was a young guy,” he said. “In the dressing room was Vieira, Cannavaro, Thuram, Buffon, Del Piero, Trezeguet, Nedved, Camoranesi. Emerson. It was a monster team with so many great players. My mentality came from that.”

One of the surprises of the Friday night win was that Ibrahimovic has now replaced Wayne Rooney as Manchester United’s penalty-taker. It was he, not the England captain, who stepped up to seal United’s victory from the penalty spot.

Ibrahimovic has taken over penalty duties from Rooney (Getty)

One of the reasons why Alan Shearer’s proposed transfer to Old Trafford from Blackburn broke down 20 years ago was that Sir Alex Ferguson turned down his request to replace Eric Cantona as United’s penalty-taker. Mourinho put no such restriction on Ibrahimovic, although the hand-over appears to have been amicable.

“I spoke to Wayne two weeks ago so there was no confusion,” said Ibrahimovic. “That was decided long before. It was not decided out there on the pitch.”

It is no surprise that Ibrahimovic, at 34 and in the twilight of an extraordinary career, should have responded so quickly to Mourinho.

At Inter Milan, Ibrahimovic was impressed by the aura Mourinho carried around him, his tactical knowledge and the way he would rip into his players regardless of their reputation.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic climbs high to head United ahead (Getty)

Mourinho, said Ibrahimovic, was also very good off the pitch. He was with Sweden at Euro 2008 when Mourinho replaced Roberto Mancini at San Siro.

If Ibrahimovic had thought about leaving, Mourinho allayed his fears with a phone call and a series of text messages to him at the Swedish training camp in Switzerland.

Mourinho said he had done the same this summer with Marouane Fellaini, who to many at Old Trafford remains the symbol of the failed experiment with David Moyes. The Belgian midfielder had not expected to survive the summer.

“A simple phone call can make the difference,” said Mourinho. “Here was a player who was not feeling loved. When the market opened everyone said he was leaving and he was not the player for me.

Marouane Fellaini thought he had no future at United until he received a call from Mourinho (Getty)

“Maybe a simple phone call the day after my presentation as Manchester United manager changed a lot. I told him: ‘Forget about everything you have read. You don’t leave here for sure.’

“He is playing well with Michael Carrick, with Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba and he is full of confidence but then I have so many good players.