12th March, 2020
Arsenal’s Manager, Mikel Arteta has tested positive to the deadly Coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world.
Arsenal, in a statement on its website on Thursday confirmed the development, saying that the club’s London Colney training centre had been closed after head coach Mikel Arteta received a positive COVID-19 result this evening.
The club said Arsenal personnel who had recent close contact with Mikel would now self-isolate in line with Government health guidelines, as the club expected this to be a significant number of people from Colney, including the full first-team squad and coaching staff, as well as a smaller number of people from its Hale End Academy which “we have also temporarily closed as a precaution. ”
“We expect those who did not have close contact with Mikel to return to work in the coming days. In the meantime our Colney and Hale End training centres will undergo a deep clean and our other club sites are operating as normal,” the statement said.
Arsenal’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.”
Head of football Raul Sanllehi added: “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.”
“We will work with Public Health England on the next steps in regard to our facilities and staff, and with the Premier League, Football Association and relevant clubs around our forthcoming matches in the Premier League and Emirates FA Cup.
“It is clear we will not be able to play some fixtures on their currently scheduled dates. We will update supporters who have tickets for forthcoming games with more information as soon as possible.
We are now working to trace any other people who have had recent close contact with Mikel. We will let them know what has happened and they should follow the NHS guidance which is likely to recommend self-isolation,” the club said.
Mikel said: “This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly. I will be at work as soon as I’m allowed.”