Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be involved in the Europa League final after Arsenal confirmed he would not travel with the squad.

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery said that he respects midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s decision not travel to Azerbaijan for the UEFA Europa League final against Chelsea.

“It’s bad news, but we can’t do anything for these issues. It’s very personal and we need to respect him,” Emery said on Tuesday

The Armenia international’s safety was a concern due to the dispute between his country and host nation Azerbaijan.

There have been no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the conflict in the Nagorono-Karabkh region.

Emery’s sentiment was echoed by players Alex Iwobi and Stephan Lichtsteiner with both eager to win the club’s first Europa League title for their absent team-mate.