Arsenal is soaring to the Europa League final, the club's first in 19 years. The Gunners defeated Valencia in the semifinals and will take on Sarri's Chelsea squad on May 29 in Baku. However, Emery's team may be without their fantasista Mkhitaryan for their most important match of the season. And this absence would not depend on him nor the staff.
In fact, the cause of him potentially missing the game is not due to injury or illness, but politics. Azerbajian, the host country for the final, is in diplomatic conflict with Armenia, the home country of Mkhitaryan. There have been conflict and tensions between the two countries for the past ten years, and they currently are not in good standing. According to Daily Mail, this could keep the player from playing in the final because traveling to the country could put his safety at serious risk.
This would not be the first time that Mkhitaryan would have to miss on traveling to a match for reasons outside the sport. In October 2018, Arsenal did not bring him on an Europa League match against Qarabag. Additionally, while with Borussia Dortmund in 2015, he missed another match that was played in Azerbaijan for political reasons.
