Unai Emery has revealed that Aaron Ramsey has requested to miss Arsenal’s Europa League clash against Qarabag on Thursday night.
According to the Metro, Ramsey asked to remain home with his pregnant wife, Colleen, who is due to give birth to twins very soon.
For this reason Ramsey didn’t travel with the rest of the squad to Azerbaijan.
When questioned about team news, Emery told reporters:
“Aaron asked me if he could stay in London because he wife is pregnant and they are waiting.”
Ramsey’s future is up in the air at The Emirates with the Welshman’s contract expiring next summer, leaving Ramsey with a host of options in England and abroad to move on from the Gunners on a free transfer.
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Star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will also miss the tie after Emery revealed that the striker has come down with an illness which will rule him out.
Attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan will also not make the journey to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag amidst longstanding tensions between Mkhitaryan’s native Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Uefa told BBC Sport it was a “mutual decision” taken by Arsenal and Mkhitaryan “not to travel to this match for safety reasons”.
The Gunners will be without several key stars it seems as they look to continue their Europa League journey against Qarabag on Thursday.