Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be making the journey to Azerbaijan on Thursday to play Qarabag because of the security situation surrounding the Armenia/Azerbaijan conflict, according to ESPN journalist Mattias Karen.
The Armenian0-born attacker would have been in line for a start but will play no part in the game, and his stance could also affect his availability for the final.
I'm told Henrikh Mkhitaryan won't be making the trip to Azerbaijan for Thursday's game. Player's own decision based on the security situation amid the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Could be an issue for the final in Baku as well if Arsenal make it that far.
— Mattias Karén (@MattiasKaren) October 1, 2018
OPINION
This is a rather unusual situation. Mkhitaryan has chosen not to travel on Thursday and the unique circumstances have obviously been taken into consideration by Emery. Generally, if there’s a security problem it affects the whole team and just one player, but the wishes of Mkhitaryan have prevailed here. The £120k/wk attacker would have been on to start the game after not featuring off the bench on Saturday against Watford, and that means that he could be chosen to play in the Premier League match against Fulham next weekend. However, as Karen says, this could have a knock-on effect for the final as well, which is set to be played at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan on 29 May – presuming Arsenal actually get that far of course. The bookies think they’ve got a good chance, listing them as second favourites behind London rivals Chelsea. Mkhitaryan has shown flashes this season of getting back to the sort of form that persuaded Arsenal to bring him in as part of the deal that saw Alexis Sanchez move to Man United. But, after playing 90 minutes in the first three Premier League games, he’s been restricted to just short cameos since.