• The entire first-team Arsenal squad has been told to self-isolate following Arteta's diagnosis.
• Arsenal's clash against Brighton on Saturday has been postponed following the announcement.In a statement, Brighton's chief executive Paul Barber said:
• "It's absolutely essential the health and wellbeing of individuals takes priority and with that in mind Saturday's match has been postponed.
• "We apologise to all fans for any inconvenience but trust everyone will understand that we are all facing an unprecedented situation."
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has tested positive for the coronavirus, the football club have confirmed.
The full first-team squad and anyone else who has been in recent close contact with Arteta has been told to self-isolate. Arsenal's clash against Brighton on Saturday has been postponed following the announcement.
Arsenal players train at London Colney
In a statement, Brighton's chief executive Paul Barber said:
"First and foremost our thoughts are with Mikel Arteta and we wish him a speedy recovery.
"It's absolutely essential the health and wellbeing of individuals takes priority and with that in mind Saturday's match has been postponed.
"We apologise to all fans for any inconvenience but trust everyone will understand that we are all facing an unprecedented situation."
Announcing Arteta's diagnosis, Arsenal said:
"Our London Colney training centre has been closed after head coach Mikel Arteta received a positive COVID-19 result this evening. "Arsenal personnel who had recent close contact with Mikel will now self-isolate in line with government health guidelines.
"We expect this to be a significant number of people from Colney, including the full first-team squad and coaching staff."
Mikel Arteta pictured at a training session at London Colney on 10 March
The statement added: "It is clear we will not be able to play some fixtures on their currently scheduled dates.
"We will update supporters who have tickets for forthcoming games with more information as soon as possible.
"The Premier League is now set to convene an emergency club meeting on Friday morning regarding future fixtures.
Arsenal said it is working to trace others who have had recent close contact with Arteta. The club's Colney and Hale End training centres will be deep-cleaned, but other club sites will operate as normal.Following the announcement, Arteta said:
"This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly.
I will be at work as soon as I'm allowed."Arsenal's managing director, Vinai Venkatesham, said the health of its staff and the wider public was the club's "top priority".
COVID-19 'much, much worse than Ebola'
"Our thoughts are with Mikel who is disappointed but in good spirits," he added.
Arsenal's game at Manchester City was cancelled on Wednesday after team members came into contact with rival team owner Evangelos Marinakis, who announced on Tuesday he had contracted COVID-19.
The latest coronavirus developments:
A tenth person in the UK has died after contracting COVID-19, taking the total number of cases in the country to nearly 600
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said "many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time" as he declared the government is entering the "delay" phase of its response to the virus
The FTSE 100 has dropped more than 10% in its worst day since the 1987 crash
France's President Macron says the country is facing its worst health crisis for a century
The director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine told Sky News the spread of coronavirus is "much, much worse" than seen with Ebola
This weekend's Australian Grand Prix has been cancelled, according to the FIA, Formula One and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation
Arteta's diagnosis comes as three players at Premier League club Leicester City showed symptoms of coronavirus and were isolated.The team's manager, Brendan Rodgers, said:
"We've had a few players that have shown symptoms and signs [of coronavirus].
We've followed procedures and [as a precaution] they have been kept away from the squad."European football's governing body, UEFA, is set to discuss next week whether any of its three tournaments will go ahead.
The futures of this season's Champions League, Europa League and this summer's European Championships are yet to be decided.
England's friendly match against Denmark at Wembley on 31 March is expected to be cancelled, according to the Danish football federation.
The England side's clash with Italy four days earlier is also likely to be called off.
Credit to Source: Sky News
