Doubts remain over whether Arsenal’s Armenian playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan will travel to Azerbaijan for Thursday’s Europa League Group E fixture with Qarabag.
Reports suggest Mkhitaryan will not be joining the team for Baku trip, but there has been no official confirmation from Arsenal.
Arsenal said earlier it would prioritize safety over Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Azerbaijan visa for Europa League game.
Arsenal are due to travel to Baku on October 4 for a UEFA Europa League group stage tie against Azerbaijani champions Qarabag.
Because of absence of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Mkhitaryan would require an exception to get a visa.
Uefa earlier confirmed that it would support any visa application for Mkhitaryan.
“It is a standard procedure for Uefa to send letters of support to associations, clubs or embassies in order to obtain visa for players in order to be able to travel to another country and play in Uefa competition matches,” a spokesperson said.
In 2015, the then-Borussia Dortmund player opted not to travel for a Europa League game against Gabala, citing security concerns.
