Arsenal: Proud to boycott Europa League final

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has chosen not to travel to the Europa League final amid concerns for his, his family’s and his teammate’s safety. If Arsenal chose to boycott the final, I would be immensely proud.

Arsenal will play the Europa League final in a week. I have previously described it as the biggest game this club has played in five years, since Arsene Wenger won his first trophy in nine years, beating Hull City 3-2 in the FA Cup final. I really do believe it has that much significance.

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And yet, I would never be prouder of this football than if they chose to boycott the final and not play. Despite all that is at stake, a European trophy in Unai Emery’s first season, Champions League qualification, a foundation for the new era to build from, some things are more important than success.

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The final will be played in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has caused great controversy. The travel, the 6,000 ticket allocation when the capacity of the Olympic Stadium is ten times that, the horrific human rights record. But on Tuesday, it all came to a head when Henrikh Mkhitaryan, an Armenian, chose not to travel with the squad amid fears for his, his family’s and his teammates’ safety.

Mkhitaryan said:

"“Having considered all current options, we had to take the tough decision for me not to travel with the squad to the Europa League final.”"

That sentiment was echoed by the club:

"“We have written to Uefa expressing our deep concerns about this situation. We have thoroughly explored all the options for Micki to be part of the squad but after discussing this with Micki and his family we have collectively agreed he will not be in our travelling party.”"

I understand that Arsenal will almost certainly not boycott the final, at least not without the partnered support of Chelsea, the opponents of this farce. And I am not calling for them to boycott it. The decision is entirely theirs to make.

What I am saying, however, is that if they did choose to concede the final, I would support them fully in it. I do not love sport, and football in particular, because of the winning. That, of course, is a part of it, but there is a deeper, more satisfying element to partaking in and supporting sport that goes beyond winning and losing. The community of sport, the joy and comradery of football, the bringing of people together from all over the world. And UEFA are the antithesis of that.

Should Arsenal choose to stand up for those values, above the chance to win a trophy and qualify for the Champions League, potentially setting the club back years in its new Emery-led project, costing them tens of millions of pounds in the process, I would be all for it.

In fact, I would go as far as to say that I would never be prouder of the club than if they chose football — and everything that football stands for — over success.