‘Bad news’ for Gunners as Mik opts out of final

Unai Emery respects the “personal” nature of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s decision not to play in the Europa League final but concedes it is “bad news” for his Arsenal side.

The Armenian’s safety was a concern because of the dispute between his country and Azerbaijan, the host nation of next week’s fixture between the Gunners and Chelsea.

Despite receiving assurances aimed at allaying those fears, Mkhitaryan has chosen not to travel to Baku following discussions with the club and his family.

“I discussed this with Mkhitaryan,” said the Arsenal manager. “It’s a very personal decision. He wants to play with the team, but he spoke with his family and decided not to go.

“It’s bad news, but we cannot do anything about these issues. It’s a very, very personal decision and we need to respect him. I don’t understand the political problems, but I must respect (his decision).

“I spoke to him. I came from the Basque country, where we had a big political problem there, finishing five or six years ago. This is a very personal decision; I cannot push him to come with us.

“For him and for me, it’s very important to (have his) help with his quality and his capacity, but these issues are out of my hands and I understand 100 per cent.”

The former Manchester United man said he was “hurt” to miss the showpiece event.

He tweeted: “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.”

Arsenal said in a statement they were “very sad” he was missing out on the final in such circumstances and revealed they had written to UEFA expressing their “deep concerns” at the situation.

UEFA later insisted that a “comprehensive security plan” was in place for Mkhitaryan.