London: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea player Callum Hudson-Odoi have both tested positive for coronavirus just hours after the Premier League announced this weekend’s fixtures will still go ahead.
Arteta, 37, became the first confirmed member of staff of a Premier League team to contract the disease, which was officially labelled a pandemic Wednesday by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
News of Arteta’s diagnosis came less than an hour after the Premier League announced that this weekend’s fixtures would still be played as planned. He, and the entire first team squad and coaching staff, will now be self-isolating in accordance with the most recent government guidelines.
Brighton & Hove Albion, who were scheduled to play Arsenal, Saturday, announced that the match had been postponed.
The Premier League had issued a statement earlier Thursday saying that ‘all Premier League matches will go ahead as scheduled this weekend’ but they are facing pressure to suspend the season.
“Arsenal personnel who had recent close contact with Mikel will now self-isolate in line with Government health guidelines. We expect this to be a significant number of people from Colney, including the full first team squad and coaching staff,” Arsenal said in a statement.
Arsenal said they expected those who did not have close contact with their Spanish manager to return to work in the coming days and that their training centres would undergo a deep clean.
“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,” said the club’s head of football Raul Sanllehi. “It is clear we will not be able to play some fixtures on their currently scheduled dates.”
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, who has three players in self-isolation after showing symptoms of the virus, said the season should be now stopped.
“There is absolutely no doubt, from a logical perspective. There’s the public health and ethical side as well,” Rodgers said. “Players could be going into games and they could be unclear if opposition players are infected. You think of how it all connects with the throw-ins. There should be no risks taken in the public’s health which is key,” Rodgers added.
Arteta who joined Arsenal in December after working as assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, said he had felt ill prior to taking the test. “This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly. I will be at work as soon as I’m allowed,” he said.
Meanwhile Chlesea also said that first team players and the coaching staff will go into self-isolation after Hudosn-Odoi was found to have contracted the disease. The 19-year-old’s positive test throws Saturday’s fixture against Aston Villa into doubt.
“Callum displayed symptoms similar to a mild cold Monday morning and has not been at the training ground since then as a precaution,” Chelsea said in a statement here
“However, his test came in positive this (Thursday) evening and he will undergo a period of self-isolation. Despite testing positive for the virus, Callum is doing well and looking forward to returning to the training ground as soon as it is possible,” the statement said.
“In the meantime, the men’s team building, one of several separate buildings at our training ground, will remain closed. The rest of our training facility, Stamford Bridge and other facilities are operating as normal,” the club added.
The Premier League announced an emergency meeting Friday morning. However, it seems that other than stopping the season now, the panel has no other option.
Agencies