SAFETY TOP PRIORITY FOR STAY-AT-HOME HENRIKH

HENRIKH MKHITARYAN is set to sit out Arsenal’s Europa League trip to Azerbaijan.

Gunners boss Unai Emery’s side face the country’s champions FK Qarabag in Thursday’s second group game.

But Mkhitaryan (left) is expected not to travel due to tensions between his country – Armenia – and Azerbaijan. For years Armenians have been banned from Azerbaijan, with a dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region central to the hostility between the two countries who have also gone to war twice.

However, the Azerbaijan government do make exceptions and attacking midfielder Mkhitaryan would be able to apply for a visa for the trip. In 2015, when he was at Borussia Dortmund, Mkhitaryan was advised he would be granted a visa but missed the trip due to safety concerns. He is expected to do the same again this week and his decision is supported by the Gunners with his safety the top priority for Emery (left).

The issue could arise again later in the season with the Europa League final also taking place in Baku next May.

But that is an issue Mkhitaryan and Arsenal will only have to deal with if the Gunners reach the final.