Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will sit out Saturday’s English Premier League game at home to Manchester City after testing positive for COVID-19, the London club said yesterday.
Arsenal is fourth in the table on 35 points after 19 games, 12 points behind leader City. “Mikel is isolating in line with government guidelines and we wish him well,” Arsenal said in a statement. Arteta previously tested positive in March 2020, shortly before the pandemic forced the EPL to shut down for more than three months. The 39-year-old is also the latest EPL manager to test positive after Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira and Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard. A record 103 positive COVID-19 cases were found among players and staff in the EPL over the past week following a raft of fixture postponements during the busy festive period.