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The Head Coach of Arsenal Football Club, Mikel Arteta has tested positive for Coronavirus.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for coronavirus and the club’s game against Brighton on Saturday has been postponed.
Very Disappointing
The 37 years old Spaniard said that “This is really disappointing, but I took the test after feeling poorly and I will be at work as soon as I’m allowed.”
The leadership of the English Football Club has closed its training grounds and self-isolating those who had contact with Mikel Arteta will now self-isolate.
Arsenal expects a “significant number of people” will self-isolate, including the “full first-team squad”.
The club was due to face Brighton in the Premier League at Amex Stadium on Saturday (15:00 GMT) but Brighton released a statement, shortly after confirmation of Arteta’s positive test, announcing that the game had been called off.
Arsenal FC Reactions
The Managing Director of Arsenal FC, Vinai Venkatesham asserts that “the health of our people and the wider public is our priority and that is where our focus is.”
“We are in active dialogue with all the relevant people to manage this situation appropriately, and we look forward to getting back to training and playing as soon as medical advice allows.”
Several Arsenal FC players have been subjected to self-isolation following their established contacts with the owner of the Greek Football Club, Olympiakos- Evangelos Marinakis who recently contracted the coronavirus.
Arsenal said Marinakis, 52, met a number of their players when the Gunners hosted the Greek side in a Europa League match two weeks ago.
In view of the above, Arsenal FC Premier League match with Manchester City has now been postponed as a precautionary measure.
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Official Premier League Reaction
The Premier League held “an emergency club meeting” on Friday to discuss future fixtures and all football matches for this weekend have now been suspended.
The decision of the Premier League to suspend matches is unprecedented.
For several days now senior officials have privately believed matches would soon have to be played closed doors with preparations made to do so.
Despite mounting criticism for carrying on as normal and being so out of step with other competitions around the world, the Premier League agreed to follow government policy.
With several clubs now directly affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus, the integrity of the league is clearly in jeopardy, hence the inevitability of the suspension.
If Euro 2020 is postponed by UEFA for a year on Tuesday, space could perhaps be created in the calendar for any delayed matches to be played, and a case could be made to the government to pause the Premier League and EFL seasons for several weeks.
