Coronavirus: Arsenal tell players not to report back for training after 14 days in self-isolation

Manager Mikel Arteta was diagnosed with coronavirus nearly two weeks ago, but the club do not want any players from the men’s, women’s and youth teams to return to the club after being told to ‘stay at home and save lives’

Arsenal have told all players not to report back for training on Tuesday as initially planned as it would be “inappropriate and irresponsible” to do so while the coronavirus crisis in the United Kingdom worsens.

Sunday’s latest figures show that 281 people have died in the UK due to the outbreak of Covid-19, with the government stressing the importance of social distancing in an effort to reduce the impact that will be seen over the next few weeks as the worst of the pandemic is expected to hit.

Arsenal were one of the first football clubs to be affected by coronavirus as manager Mikel Arteta was struck down nearly two weeks’ ago, resulting in the Premier league being called off on 13 March in a suspension of English football that has now been extended to 30 April at the very least.

The squad were placed in self-isolation due to Arteta’s positive test – with a number having also come into contact with Olympiacos boss Evangelos Marinakis who has also suffered from coronavirus – and were due to report back for training on Tuesday, but the men’s senior team along with the women’s and academy players have been told to stay at home in order to comply with government advice in an effort to ‘stop the spread’.

“Our men’s first team players were scheduled to return to training on Tuesday after completing 14 days isolation following Mikel Arteta’s positive diagnosis for the virus,” an Arsenal statement read.

“As a result of the current situation we are clear it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to ask players to come back at this time. Therefore our men’s first team, women and academy players are all remaining at home. Stay at home and save lives.”

The Premier League held talks last week about how the remainder of the 2019/20 season can go ahead, with clubs and league officials determined to complete the campaign in order to avoid any legal ramifications of calling a premature halt even if it has to impact on next season.

Euro 2020 has already been moved to next summer in order to allow more time to complete domestic and European club competitions, while next year’s Women’s European Championship is also set to be moved to a different date. The 2020 Copa America, which will feature a large number of Premier League players, has also been postponed until next year.