*Mikel Arteta, Arsenal Boss during the WestHam vs Arsenal game last weekend
Arsenal new Manager, Mikel Arteta and Chelsea player Callum Hudson-Odoi have both tested positive for the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID-19) 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 the English Premier League team to contract the disease, which was officially labelled a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday March 11, 2020.
The sad 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.
In a similar development, Chelsea also announced Hudson-Odoi, 19, had tested positive with COVID-19 at around midnight and said the training facility in Cobham, Surrey, will be partially closed. Chelsea staff who had recent close contact with the winger will also self-isolate, the club said in a statement. The player posted a video on Twitter this morning (Friday), thanking fans for their good wishes and confirming he will be self-isolating.
Meanwhile, we gathered that the Premier League will hold an emergency meeting via conference call at 10.30am on Friday to decide if and how to proceed with the remaining fixtures of the season. Earlier today Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired a meeting of Cobra emergency committee in which he refused to ban mass gatherings or shut schools despite saying ‘many loved ones’ will die during the escalating crisis.
