A big blow before the finals!
It is official that Henrikh Mkhitariyan will not be travelling with Arsenal to play in the finals of Europa League final against Chelsea.
There is no injury concern or whatsoever but the diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan(hosting finals) and Armenia have resulted in Mkhitariyan’s exile. The visa issue and family concerns have made Henrikh miss an all important final.
A club statement read: “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.”
Henrikh Mkhitariyan exit is like wheels off the wagon for Arsenal which has left former Manchester United midfielder in tears.
He wrote on his social media account: “Having considered all the current options, we had to take the tough decision for me not to travel with the squad to the UEL Final against Chelsea.“
“It’s the kind of game that doesn’t come along very often for us players and I must admit, it hurts me a lot to miss it. I will be cheering my teammates on! Let’s bring it home Arsenal.”
The team of ArsenalCore is as devastated as the millions of Gunners back at home. We feel for Henrikh but dare Chelsea take us lightly because we have a strong bench capable of replacing the Armenian.
