Breaking: Manchester City vs Arsenal postponed amid coronavirus fears

The diagnosis of Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis with the illness has prompted


A general view of the Emirates Stadium (Image: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Arsenal's Premier League game against Manchester City tomorrow night has been postponed because a handful of the Gunners players have been forced to self-isolate due to a potential risk of them spreading coronavirus.


The revelation that Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis has contracted the virus prompted Arsenal to trace individuals that had contact with the shipping magnate 12 days ago when his side were playing at the Emirates Stadium in the Europa League.

Arsenal found that a number of their players had been in contact with Marinakis and as such these players, as well as four members of staff, will remain in isolation until after Thursday.


The Gunners' statement appeared to indicate that they expected Saturday's trip to Brighton & Hove Albion to go ahead as planned though the news that some of their players have been exposed to coronavirus will doubtless prompt further questions over whether football can continue in its present state in England whilst the country battles with the pandemic.





A club statement said: "Following yesterday's news that Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis has recently contracted Covid-19, we have been taking medical advice and tracing any individuals who had what the guidelines define as close contact with him at the game 13 days ago.

"As a result of this exercise we identified that a number of players met the Olympiacos owner immediately following the game.

"The medical advice we have received puts the risk of them developing Covid-19 at extremely low. However, we are strictly following the Government guidelines which recommend that anyone coming into close contact with someone with the virus should self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact.

"As a result, the players are unavailable for tonight's match against Manchester City and the Premier League has decided the game should be postponed.

"The players will remain at their homes until the 14-day period expires. Four Arsenal staff, who were sitting close to Mr Marinakis during the match will also remain at home until the 14 days are complete.

"We fully understand how disappointing this is for our supporters, in particular those who were travelling to Manchester for tonight's match. Tickets will be valid for the match when it's rearranged.

"As a further precautionary measure, whilst we do not believe there was any close contact with any other Arsenal guests or staff in the directors box restaurant, we are contacting them to advise they should follow the relevant advice if there has been any such contact.

"Everyone at Arsenal Football Club wishes Mr Marinakis a swift recovery and we look forward to the players and staff returning to work on Friday in preparation for our match at Brighton."