Arteta eager to get return clearance
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, 37, is disappointed after testing positive for the coronavirus. Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, 19, has also contracted the disease.
LONDON • Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he will return to work only when he is given the all-clear to do so, after he tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday.
Later that night, Chelsea's English winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, 19, became the first Premier League player to have the Covid-19 disease as the Blues' players and coaching staff were ordered into isolation.
Arsenal have closed their training ground in London Colney as a result of the positive test, with players and club staff who had recent contact with Arteta now forced to self-isolate.
"This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly," the 37-year-old Spaniard said in a statement on the club website.
"I will be at work as soon as I'm allowed."
The situation also forced their top-flight league match at Brighton today to be called off, before the Premier League announced a suspension of matches yesterday.
The club's managing director Vinai Venkatesham said: "The health of our people and the wider public is our priority and that is where our focus is.
"Our thoughts are with Mikel, who is disappointed but in good spirits.
"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."
Brighton chief executive Paul Barber wished Arteta a speedy recovery and said that health takes priority.
Arsenal's league match at Manchester City on Wednesday was postponed as a precautionary measure after several players went into self-isolation, following Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis' admission a day earlier he had contracted the Covid-19 disease.
Marinakis, 52, met a number of their players and staff after the Gunners hosted the Greek side in their Europa League match on Feb 27.
Everton's first team squad and coaching staff are self-isolating after an unnamed first-team player reported symptoms of the virus yesterday. Leicester also revealed on Thursday that three of their players have self-isolated after showing flu-like symptoms.
English champions City said one unnamed member of their squad, reportedly France defender Benjamin Mendy, is in self-isolation after a family member suffered a respiratory illness. The relative is being treated in hospital and has undergone tests for the virus.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
