Mkhitaryan Opts Out Of Europa League Final Over Safety Concerns
By Nigel Philips
Arsenal have released a statement confirming the exclusion of midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan from their traveling party to face Chelsea in the Europa League final due to political tension between his country, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, where the game will be held.
Despite UEFA giving Mkhitaryan assurances over his safety, the former Manchester United midfielder, after consultation with his family, Arsenal, and manager Unai Emery, has decided to opt out of the game.
Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan do not exist due to a long-standing conflict between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and as a result, Azerbaijan does not allow Armenian nationals to enter the country.
Mkhitaryan, who is the captain of the Armenia national team, was prevented by Arsenal from playing in the Gunners’ Europa League game against Azerbaijan league leaders, Qarabag, in October last year due to safety concerns.
A Statement released by Arsenal on Tuesday read: “We have thoroughly explored all the options for Micki to be part of the squad but after discussing this with Micki and his family, we have collectively agreed he will not be in our traveling party.”
“We have written to UEFA expressing our deep concerns about this situation. Micki has been a key player in our run to the final so this is a big loss for us from a team perspective.”
“We're also very sad that a player will miss out on a major European final in circumstances such as this, as it is something that comes along very rarely in a footballer's career.”
“Micki will continue to be part of our preparations until we depart for Baku at the weekend.”
Mkhitaryan took to his own Instagram account to write: “Having considered all the current options, we had to take the tough decision for me not to travel with the squad to the Europa League final.”
“It‘s the kind of game that doesn’t come along very often for us players and I must admit, it hurts me a lot to miss it. I will be cheering my teammates on! Let‘s bring it home.”
Arsenal have failed to make the Premier League top four this season, meaning only a victory over Chelsea in the Europa League final will guarantee them Champions League football next season.
