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Arsenal's Mkhitaryan to miss Europa League final over safety fears

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Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss the Europa League final in Baku, Azerbaijan, due to political tension between the host nation and his native Armenia.

The Premier League side sought and received assurances from UEFA over Mkhitaryan's safety, but the decision was made to leave the player behind.

"We are very disappointed to announce that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be traveling with the squad for our UEFA Europa League final against Chelsea," Arsenal said in a statement Tuesday. "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 traveling party."

Mkhitaryan skipped a Europa League match against Azerbaijani side Qarabag earlier in the season for the same reason.

Arsenal wanted clarification on the matter ahead of the final and received the all-clear from UEFA and the Azerbaijani government.

"In spite of the difficult relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Mkhitaryan can play in the Europa League final in Baku," a spokeswoman for Azerbaijan's foreign ministry, Leyla Abdullayeva, told Agence France-Presse.

Azerbaijan has previously banned Armenians from entering the country because of an ongoing dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

Arsenal are now without a major squad player for their first European final in 13 years. Mkhitaryan, who won the competition in 2017 with Manchester United, made 11 appearances in the Europa League this term.

"We're also very sad that a player will miss out on a major European final in circumstances such as this, as it is something that comes along very rarely in a footballer's career," the club said.

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