Uni Emery also explains Henrikh Mkhitaryan's absence for Europa League Group E tie
Wednesday 3 October 2018 19:46, UK
Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has confirmed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Aaron Ramsey have not travelled for the Europa League match at Qarabag on Thursday.
Ramsey has missed the trip to Azerbaijan to stay in London with his wife, who is waiting to give birth to twins, while Aubameyang is out with an illness.
Meanwhile, it was reported on Tuesday that Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not travel with the squad due to continuing tensions between Azerbaijan and his native Armenia.
Emery confirmed Mkhitaryan's absence, saying: "He can't travel here. We are here with the players with the best preparation to play them tomorrow.
"My work is football. I respect each person, each culture, each country, but I don't know each situation in every country. For me, he can't play tomorrow and I have respect for Mkhi and for you. Today we are here with the players to play."
Emery added: "Aubameyang was sick, he can't play. Aaron asked me if he could stay in London because he wife is pregnant and they are waiting."
Arsenal travel to Qarabag for their second European match of the campaign after beating Vorskla Poltava 4-2 in their opener at the Emirates.
Qarabag lost their first match 2-0 away to Sporting, but Emery is not underestimating the club that held Atletico Madrid to two draws in last year's Champions League group stages.
Emery added: "We have a lot of respect for Qarabag. They started with a good performance against Sporting. They lost 2-0 but it was a good performance.
"They have good players, good spirit. I remember last season Atletico Madrid couldn't win two games against them. That is two very good examples why we have respect for them."
