Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Arsenal face a diplomatic dilemma should they make it to the Europa League Final next month in Baku.
Should the Gunners overcome Napoli in the second leg of their quarter-final, in which they hold a 2-0 aggregate lead, and either Valencia or Villarreal in the semi-finals they will return to Azerbaijan for the second time this season.
Azerbaijan and Mkhitaryan's native Armenia are the subject of an ongoing dispute in relation to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The matter dates back to the 20th century and saw a six-year conflict until 1994.
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Arsenal will make a decision in consultation with the player only if and when they make the final, which is due to take place on May 29. The second leg of the semi-final is 20 days earlier.
Mkhitaryan opted not to travel to Azerbaijan on each of the last two occasions his side have been scheduled to play there, a group stage games against Gabala when he was at Borussia Dortmund and away to Qarabag earlier this season. Inevitably a final would require a different calculus as to whether the 30-year-old would consider travelling.
As they did before the group stage match in October UEFA have confirmed they will offer their support to Mkhitaryan in securing a visa.
"It is a standard procedure for Uefa to send letters of support to associations, clubs or embassies in order to obtain visa for players in order to be able to travel to another country and play in Uefa competition matches," a spokesperson said.
At the time of Arsenal's first trip to Baku a club spokesperson said: "Safety and security of our players and staff is always a top priority.
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"We will be looking into this situation, talk to the player and make a decision after that."
Nagorno-Karabakh has been controlled by the Azerbaijan military since 1994. Fighting broke out between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces again in 2016.
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