Mkhitaryan could miss final over safety fears

ARSENAL fear Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss the Europa League final against Chelsea because the Armenian will not be granted a visa to travel to Baku. Mkhitaryan (right) has been forced to skip matches in Azerbaijan for Arsenal and for former club Borussia Dortmund owing to longstanding tension between Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan. An Arsenal spokesman said: ‘The safety and security of our players is paramount. We are seeking guarantees from UEFA that it will be safe for Henrikh to travel to Baku. Acceptable guarantees have not been received yet, and we hope UEFA will be able to supply these promptly. ‘We are hugely concerned that the location of the final could lead to Micki not being able to play in a European final.’ Arsenal and Chelsea fans are facing travel and ticket chaos for the final on May 29, with each club handed a miserly 6,000 allocation and flights costing more than £1,000. Both clubs are disgusted about their allocation at the Olympic Stadium, which holds 68,700. UEFA cited ‘the capacity of airports in and around the host city’ as one reason — which begs the question why Baku was chosen. It is a logistical nightmare, with no direct flights from London. Fans will also need visas.