Arsenal's Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss next week's Europa League final with Chelsea in Baku as the club do not feel his safety can be guaranteed.
The Armenian's participation was in doubt because of diplomatic issues between his country and Azerbaijan over a border dispute.
Mkhitaryan did not travel when Arsenal faced Qarabag in the group stages earlier this season and Arsenal say they have written to UEFA to express their "deep concerns" about the situation.
"We're very disappointed to announce that @HenrikhMkh will not be travelling with the squad for our #UELfinal against Chelsea."
Full statement 👇— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 21, 2019
"We are very disappointed to announce that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be travelling with the squad for our Uefa Europa League final against Chelsea.
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 travelling party.
We have written to Uefa expressing our deep concerns about this situation. Micki has been a key player in our run to the final so this is a big loss for us from a team perspective.
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.
Micki will continue to be part of our preparations until we depart for Baku at the weekend."
