Arsenal star to not be named in Europa League final squad amid political dispute

What's the story?

Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be travelling with Arsenal to Baku for the Europa League final clash against Chelsea.

In case you didn't know...

Arsenal travelled to Azerbaijan for their second Europa League group match against Qarabag. In that particular match away from home, the Armenian international did not travel with the Gunners too. His absence was due to the ongoing political conflict between the two nations over a disputed region.

Earlier, Unai Emery had indicated his preference to have Mkhitaryan travel with the squad and be eligible to play. There were also reports that the Azerbaijan FA were willing to guarantee the midfielder's safety.

The heart of the matter

However, the North London club have now confirmed that the former Manchester United player will not travel to Baku following concerns over his safety.

An official statement from Arsenal stated,

"We are very disappointed to announce that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be travelling with the squad for our Uefa Europa League final against Chelsea."

"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 travelling 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 very disappointed to announce that @HenrikhMkh will not be travelling with the squad for our #UELfinal against Chelsea."Full statement 👇

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) May 21, 2019

Mkhitaryan had previously lifted the Europa League trophy with Manchester United and hopefully this time around, he can witness the Gunners achieve the same feat.

What's next?

Arsenal will face Chelsea on 29th May in Baku. A victory for the Gunners will see them qualify for the Champions League next season.