Arsenal plan to meet with Uefa to express their fury after Henrikh Mkhitaryan decided against playing in the Europa League final over security fears.
The Armenian's safety was a concern because of the dispute between his country and Azerbaijan, the host nation of next week's fixture between the Gunners and Chelsea.
Arsenal boss Unai Emery said he respected the "personal" nature of Mkhitaryan's decision, but conceded it was "bad news" for his team.
But Arsenal managing director Vinai Venkatesham branded the situation "unacceptable" and revealed the club would make the full extent of their anger known to the governing body.
I struggle to find words for how strongly I feel. We feel it's unacceptable," he said.
"We don't feel he can travel and it's extraordinarily sad. You don't get a chance to play in major European finals often. Miki has had it taken away from him and it is an extraordinary shame.
"I spoke to him. I came from the Basque country, where we had a big political problem there, finishing five or six years ago. This is a very personal decision; I cannot push him to come with us.
For him and for me, it's very important to (have his) help with his quality and his capacity, but these issues are out of my hands and I understand 100 per cent."
Uefa insisted that a "comprehensive security plan" was in place for Mkhitaryan, while the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan branded his decision not to play "unwarranted" and said the host country had "provided all the necessary guarantees" to ensure his safety.
An AFFA spokesperson said: "We very much regret this unwarranted decision taken, as we understand, collectively by Arsenal, the player and his family. Whilst we recognise the right to make a personal decision not to travel, we would like to reiterate that as the host country Azerbaijan has provided all the necessary guarantees required by Uefa to ensure the personal safety of Mr Mkhitaryan.
"There is no reason whatsoever to put in question the seriousness of these guarantees provided by Azerbaijan. Over the past decade a large number of Armenian athletes have taken part in various international sports events in Azerbaijan without any issues. Finally, we believe that this regretful decision will not affect in any manner the quality and the attraction of this great match. We look forward to welcoming both teams in Baku shortly."
Mkhitaryan's absence, in addition to that of the injured Aaron Ramsey, who is departing for Juventus, increases Mesut Ozil's hopes of starting at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
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