Arsenal's midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be able to help his team in the Europa League game against Qarabag this week.

The Armerian player is fit and not suspended, but he will not fly to Azerbaijan for political reasons. As it is known, Armenia and Azerbaijan, the two countries which previously belonged to the USSR, have a conflict over the status of the disputed region Nagorno-Qarabag.

Before the draw of various international competitions, UEFA and FIFA make sure that Armerian and Azerbaijani teams can not end up in the same group. But with individual players, it may be more difficult.

So bearing safety concerns in mind, Mkhitaryan decided not to fly to Baku where the game is to take place.