Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss the Europa League Final if Arsenal qualify
What's the Story?
Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be unable to play the UEFA Europa League Finals if Arsenal reach it. He will also be unable to play the away game against Qarabag in the group stage.
In yet another case of political interference over Football, Henrikh Mkhitaryan's nationality will prevent him from entering Azerbaijan.
In Case You Didn't Know
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is an Armenian footballer. Armenia and Azerbaijan have a strained relationship between them owing to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The region of Nagorno -Karabakh and several other territories surrounding it are currently under dispute. They are officially part of the Azerbaijan nation but are disputed to be part of Armenian territory.
This conflict started in 1988 and has been continuing till date. A cease-fire was announced in 1994 which was followed for 22 years before a 4 day War broke out in 2016. As a result, Armenia and Azerbaijan have banned the other country's citizens from entering their country.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is among those people and will be forced to sit out the game against Qarabag and the Final which will be held in the Baku Olympic stadium, one of the homes of Qarabag FC.
Heart of the Matter
Mkhitaryan was similarly left out of Borussia Dortmund's squad when the club visited Azerbaijan to play a Europa League match. Dortmund stated 'security concerns' as the reason for leaving the player at home as the Azerbaijan embassy were willing to grant Mkhitaryan a visa.
However, Mkhitaryan's absence should not be a problem for Arsenal against a team like Qarabag FC. They should be able to win easily. But if they do manage to go all the way to the final of the tournament, missing Mkhitaryan will be a huge problem. The finals of the competition will usually mean a tougher opponent and Arsenal will need their full squad to beat whoever faces them.
What's Next?
Given how far the Armenia-Azerbaijan problem has escalated, it is unlikely that Mkhitaryan will be allowed to play at all. But it is disheartening to see politics prevent players from playing football.
This should not be happening at all and hopefully, a swift end to such unfortunate happenings can be reached.