Arsenal confirm Mkhitaryan will miss the Europa League final
Arsenal have confirmed Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss the Europa League final against Chelsea due to security fears.
This season’s final is being contested in Baku, Azerbaijan and there are concerns about Mkhitaryan’s safety.
Due to political tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the place of Mkhitaryan’s birth, Arsenal will not risk the 30-year-old’s safety in Baku.
“We are very disappointed to announce that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be travelling with the squad for our UEFA Europa League final against Chelsea,” a statement read on Arsenal’s official website.
“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.”
Henrik Mkhitaryan: Has had a direct hand in 18 goals in the last four Europa League campaigns (nine goals, nine assists), scoring in the final in 2017.
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) May 21, 2019
Only Aritz Aduriz has had a hand in more goals in the competition since 2015/16. pic.twitter.com/nHq7AaxSfV
Mkhitaryan’s absence is indeed a big blow to Arsenal’s hopes of beating Chelsea and qualifying for a place in next season’s Champions League, as the former Manchester United creator is a specialist in the competition.
In fact, only Athletic Club striker Artiz Aduriz (30) has played a direct hand in more Europa League goals over the last four campaigns than Mkhitaryan (18), who netted in the 2016/17 final for United.
