Can Henrikh Mkhitaryan play in the Europa League final 2019 for Arsenal in Baku?
ARSENAL are have reached the Europa League final in Baku!
But there remain question marks over whether one of their players would be able to feature.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has never played a match in Azerbaijan despite the Gunners and his former club Dortmund both having fixtures there in recent years.
At the Baku Olympic Stadium, where the Europa League final will be held, Arsenal were 3-0 winners over Qarabag in October.
Why wouldn’t Mkhitaryan be able to play in the Europa League final?
Azerbaijan and Mkhitaryan’s native Armenia have no diplomatic relations following the Nagorno-Karabakh War, which ended in 1994.
That means it is impossible for any Armenian to apply for a visa to enter Azerbaijan, and vice-versa.
Even foreign nationals with Armenian names are prone to being banned from entering the country.
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Will the situation be resolved if Arsenal reach the Europa League final?
Uefa have declared that should Arsenal reach the Europa League final, they will support the club in applying for an exemption to allow Mkhitaryan to enter Azerbaijan.
However, the final decision on whether Mkhitaryan will be allowed to play will still rest with the Azeri government, meaning there are no guarantees.
On previous occasions, Mkhitaryan himself has decided not to play in Azerbaijan and it is possible that he will make the same decision again.