Arteta wants clarity on virus postponements

LONDON • Arsenal have not yet been hit by the mass Covid-19 outbreaks at other English Premier League clubs that have resulted in a slew of games being postponed.

But having experienced how the virus can disrupt preparations when four players - including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette - were missing as they slumped to a 2-0 opening-day loss at Brentford in August, Mikel Arteta wants more incisiveness from the authorities.

The Gunners boss yesterday called for the Premier League to offer more clarity on the games being scrapped due to Covid-19, saying that transparency was essential to maintain fairness.

Officials have postponed five games that were scheduled for the weekend due to Covid-19 outbreaks at various clubs but Arsenal's trip to Leeds United today is still set to go ahead.

"Well, health-wise, I hope we're doing everything we can to protect everybody," Arteta said.

"(But) we need more clarity on why those games are not being played and what you need to not have a game played so you can maintain the fairness of the competition.

"We always want to play when we have the right conditions to do so 100 per cent. But we've been here on the other side of the table where we've had all the arguments in the build-up to a football match and ended up playing it (in August)."

On what Arsenal are doing to combat the possibility of infections, given the surge in Covid-19 cases in Britain, Arteta stressed the importance of getting fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

There were no positive cases in the Arsenal camp as of yesterday but he admitted that the situation was changing every day.

"The vaccination is really important to prevent getting really ill... Yes, we try to do the right thing and it's a really personal matter," the Spaniard said. "The doctor has done a really good job to educate and encourage everyone.

"We are good, we are waiting for more tests which we'll have this afternoon. This is the only thing we can do, wait and see."

Aubameyang, who earlier this week was stripped of the club captaincy following a disciplinary breach, remains unavailable for selection and will miss his third successive game.

REUTERS

Singtel TV Ch102 & StarHub Ch227, tomorrow, 1.30am