Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for coronavirus, the club announced on Thursday. The club said that the team's London Colney training center has been closed after the diagnosis was confirmed. Club personnel who had recent close contact with Arteta are now in self-isolation which the club says is in lines with government heath guidelines.
Arsenal's match against Brighton on Saturday was postponed following the news before the entire slate of Premier League matches was suspended.
Here's what the club said in its release:
Our London Colney training centre has been closed after head coach Mikel Arteta received a positive COVID-19 result this evening.
We expect 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 our 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.
On Friday, Arteta took to Twitter to announce that he is feeling better while saying thanks to those who expressed concern and said the league made "the right decision."
"Thanks for your words and support. Feeling better already. We're all facing a huge & unprecedented challenge. Everyone's health is all that matters right now. Protect each other by following the guidelines & we'll come through this together. Well done PL for making the right decision."
Arsenal's match with Manchester City on Wednesday was the first in the league to be postponed, with that decision coming before Arteta tested positive. That game was called off because the owner of Greek club Olympiakos has been diagnosed with coronavirus, and he was at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in London on Feb. 27.
