Arsenal have been given assurances by the Azerbaijan FA over the safety of their player Henrikh Mkhitaryan for the final of the Europa League final in Baku.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United playmaker did not feature in the clash against Qarabag in the group stages due to the diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia that stem from a conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Mkhitaryan was excluded for his own safety and is set to stay behind as the Gunners travel to Baku to face Chelsea in the final of the Europa League later this month. Dortmund took a similar decision during his time at the Bundesliga club.
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Some Arsenal season ticket holders of British-Armenian descent have also been denied visas to enter Azerbaijan, shattering their hopes of being able to follow for the final and leading to widespread condemnation of the match being staged in Baku.
In response to these concerns that Mkhitaryan could miss out, Elkhan Mammadov, the general secretary of the Azerbaijan FA, has dismissed the controversy by claiming that procedures have been in place for weeks.
“Our government authorities provided guarantees to Uefa for Mkhi to come to Baku, so there is no issue of security and safety,” he told the Telegraph.
“Even before Arsenal qualified for the final, we received a request from Uefa to provide the guarantees, our state authorities provided all the necessary security arrangements for Mkhitaryan to travel to Baku. All the safety and security is already guaranteed.”
However, Arsenal currently deem the situation to be unsafe for Mkhitaryan and are not willing to risk their player by putting him in potentially dangerous circumstances.
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