Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, has tested positive for coronavirus, his club confirmed on Thursday evening.
The club said that as a result of the news, the club's Colney training centre will remain closed and many members of the club including the entire first-team squad will have to self-isolate.
This will be the second time members of the Arsenal squad will have to carry out this procedure after some players had initially come into contact with Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis. That led to last Wednesday's Premier League match at Man City being postponed.
"Mikel and the full first-team squad, players and staff, will be fully supported, and we look forward to getting back to training and playing as soon as medical advice allows. Obviously Mikel’s full recovery is the priority now for us all," Raul Sanllehi, the head of football, said.
Arteta also gave his reaction to the news: "This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly. I will be at work at soon as I'm allowed", he told the Arsenal club website.
The statement also makes that "we will not be able to play some fixtures on their currently scheduled dates." These include Saturday's Premier League match at Brighton and the FA Cup quarter-final tie away to Sheffield United the following Sunday.
In the meantime, the club's training centres "will undergo a deep clean" and Arsenal "are now working to trace any other people who had recent contact" with the Gunners boss.
The Coronavirus situation remains fluid, but what seems clear is that it is almost impossible for Arsenal's fixture at Brighton on Saturday to go ahead and therefore, the Premier League's wish for all ten matches to go ahead this weekend looks very difficult.
March 12, 2020