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Football London
Football London
Sport
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Gary Lineker says what football fans think about Henrikh Mkhitaryan ahead of Europa League final

The Arsenal squad should wear Henrikh Mkhitaryan shirts for a possible Europa League trophy presentation, Gary Lineker has suggested.

As many are fully aware, the Gunners attacking midfielder is not in Azerbaijan for tonight's final against Chelsea.

It was the case when the north London outfit visited the city earlier in the campaign as Mkhitaryan missed the win over Qarabag in the group phase due to the fact that Azerbaijan don't usually allow Armenians to enter the country over tensions between the bordering rivals.

Despite the Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sports, Azad Rahimov insisting he provided guarantees for the Arsenal star, the 30-year-old opted not to travel upon discussing it with his family and the club.

It's a situation which has drawn anger from Arsenal legend Ian Wright in particular, while former manager Arsene Wenger also voiced his disapproval.

Furthermore, the topic was discussed in the House of Commons last week as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and shadow Culture Secretary, Tom Watson labelled the decision as 'scandalous'.

Many of the Arsenal first-team squad haven't been too happy with the fact Mkhitaryan can't play in such an important game, with some vowing to win the game for him.

So should the Gunners beat the Blues to claim their first European trophy in over two decades, ex-Spurs striker Lineker would like to see one thing during the trophy presentation - and it's likely that many fans across the world will agree.

"If Arsenal win tonight, It would be quite pleasing to see every player don a Mkhitaryan shirt for the trophy presentation," Lineker tweeted.

Whilst that would be a nice touch, there is a risk of upsetting the Azerbaijan officials. After all, two Arsenal supporters were stopped by the Baku police, for wearing Mkhitaryan shirts.

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