FC Arsenal will meet FC Chelsea in London’s city derby in the Europa League final (DAZN and Liveticker from 9 p.m. on Wednesday). The Gunners have to do without Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Here you can find out why the playmaker from Armenia is not available in Baku.
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The Europa League final between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC will take place on Wednesday 29 May. The venue is the Olympic Stadium in Baku (Azerbaijan). The match will be kicked off at 9pm by referee Gianluca Rocchi.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not travel to the capital of Azerbaijan. The reason: security concerns, as Mkhitaryan comes from neighbouring Armenia. The two states have no diplomatic relations due to a conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. “We have considered all options, but after a discussion with Micki and his family we decided together that he will not travel with us,” Arsenal announced.
In the course of the decision, the Gunners’ criticism of UEFA was strong: While CEO Vinai Venkatesham wants to have talks with the association (“We will express that such a situation is not acceptable and try to prevent something like this in the future”), goalkeeper Bernd Leno feels sorry for his team-mate (“I’m just sorry for him”).
Mkhitaryan himself, who only has the role of a spectator, is the one who suffers most: “It’s one of those games that we don’t have very often as players. It hurts me very much to miss it. I’m gonna cheer on my teammates. Bring it home,” wrote the Armenian in Instagram.
Independently of the Mkhitaryan case, the lack of understanding due to the awarding of the final to Baku is great: Each team is only entitled to 6,000 tickets, many fans completely forego the journey due to the arduous journey and the prizes.
The government and the Football Federation of Azerbaijan (AFFA) do not share the criticism: “Despite the difficult relationship between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Mkhitaryan can play the European League final in Baku,” said a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, confirming that AFFA had no problems.
Mkhitaryan has been on the pitch eleven times for the Gunners in the current EL season, preparing three goals in the process. The Premier League finished fifth for Arsenal, meaning that the Londoners would only qualify for the Champions League in the event of an EL win.
