Henrikh Mkhitaryan To Miss Europa League Tie In Baku Over Security Fears

Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been forced to withdraw from his side's Europa League tie in Azerbaijan this week.

The Gunners are looking to continue their positive run of results away to Qarabag on Thursday night, with a victory likely to put Unai Emery's men in the driving seat as they look to secure a spot in the competition's knockout rounds.

However, they'll have to do it without play-maker Mkhitaryan, as the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict rumbles on.

According to the Independent, the 29-year-old has decided not to travel for safety reasons, with club officials unsure whether or not he'd be granted access if he boarded a flight from London.

With all due respect to their opponents, Arsenal will probably be fine without Mkhitaryan for Thursday's clash but this decision could have big implications should the Londoners reach the final of the tournament, which is also in Baku.

As noted by Chris Wheatley of GOAL, he didn't travel to Azerbaijan three years back when Dortmund were paired in Gabala's Europa League group. Even though it looked like the issue might get sorted, BVB left him out due to concerns over his safety.

What do you think of the situation?

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Topics: Football News, Football, Europa League, Arsenal

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

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