(CNN) Arsenal's Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been left out of the English club's Europa League final squad amid concerns for his safety in Azerbaijan's capital Baku.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have a century-long conflict stemming from the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 and there were fears Mkhitaryan would not be safe in Baku.

[...] 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.I will be cheering my teammates on! Let's bring it home @Arsenal 🏆💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼 #uel #final #arsenal #chelsea #AFC #COYG pic.twitter.com/gnDA6oyolw — Henrikh Mkhitaryan (@HenrikhMkh) May 21, 2019

The London club said it was "disappointed" to announce the midfielder would not travel with the squad for the May 29 final against English Premier League rivals Chelsea, but made the final decision after discussions with him and his family.

Arsenal confirmed it has written to UEFA, European football's governing body, to express its "deep concerns".

"Micki [Mkhitaryan] has been a key player in our run to the final so this is a big loss for us from a team perspective," read a club statement

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