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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
ALEX YOUNG

Arsenal 'hugely concerned' Henrikh Mkhitaryan may miss Europa League Final over safety fears

Arsenal are "hugely concerned" Henrikh Mkhitaryan may be forced to miss the Europa League Final against Chelsea duo to ongoing tensions between home nation Armenia and host nation Azerbaijan.

Mkhitaryan, who is captain of the Armenia national team, missed Arsenal's group game against Qarabag in Baku, where the final is being held, due to the issue.

Hostility remains over the disputed Nagorno Karabakh region, where a ceasefire was declared in 1994 after fighting erupted several years earlier.

Arsenal said in a statement: "The safety and security of our players is of paramount importance.

"We are seeking guarantees from Uefa that it will be safe for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to travel to Baku for the Europa League Final, which both Arsenal and Micki require for him to be included within our squad.

"Acceptable guarantees have not been received yet, and we hope that Uefa will be able to supply these promptly. We are of course hugely concerned that the location of the final could lead to Micki not being able to play in a European final."

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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