Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta asks for clearer rules over Covid postponements
Mikel Arteta has urged the Premier League to clarify the number of positive Covid-19 cases required for matches to be postponed, saying the current rules leave clubs in the dark.
Tottenham’s scheduled game with Brighton on Sunday was called off on Thursday after eight players and five members of staff tested positive for coronavirus. On the opening weekend of the season Arteta’s Arsenal side were required to face Brentford even though four players recorded positive tests, eventually losing 2-0, and the manager said later that he was surprised the fixture went ahead. He believes a threshold is required to eliminate uncertainty.
“That would be helpful, yes,” he said when asked whether such a ruling would be helpful. On whether the stipulations are too vague, he continued: “I think it is, because you don’t know when you have to play and when you don’t and we have some examples of that.”
The Premier League has no fixed cut-off for Covid-related match postponement, which is decided on a caseby-case basis by the league’s board, with submissions from clubs and medical advisers. Arteta suggested it would be preferable to abide by a firmer set of rules.
“It’s about the decision-making that goes the same way for everybody and this is what we have to hope for,” he said. “We [want to] know the context where we’re going to be competing and if there are certain things that you don’t meet, then the game is off, and if you do, the game is on. [Then] we all know and it’s a fair competition.”
Arsenal face Southampton on Saturday at the Emirates in a match that does not appear in jeopardy, with Arteta saying his players are “very protected in terms of vaccines” and confirming the club have put extra Covid protocols in place. Victory over an injury- and suspension-hit Saints appears a necessity after successive defeats by Manchester United and Everton, and Arteta’s biggest selection dilemma surrounds a spluttering strike force.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not scored in his past six appearances while the rarely used Eddie Nketiah, who was lively in a substitute outing at Goodison Park but missed a clear chance, is believed to have rejected a new contract recently and could leave for free in the summer.
“Eddie knows how much I rate him and I would like him to stay at the club,” Arteta said. “He has the Arsenal DNA in his blood, and he loves the club so much. His reason is that he wants to play more football, and that’s a genuine reason, it’s nothing to do with anything else. He wants more minutes, and he feels he is able to contribute much more, and that’s why I like him.”
Arteta scotched suggestions he would try to sell Aubameyang, who was dropped to the bench at Everton, in January and said his captain must not lose heart. “Obviously when a player is not scoring it’s affecting his confidence,” he said. “It’s affecting the mood and probably the belief, but you have to rebel against this situation, don’t affect it and feel sorry for yourself.”
Emile Smith Rowe should return after a groin injury.