On Thursday evening, the Premier League and EFL confirmed that all matches would continue as planned this weekend after they liaised with the government, despite Arsenal confirming Mikel Arteta had contracted Covid-19 before Chelsea reported Hudson-Odoi’s case hours later.
Arteta, 37, said: “This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly. I will be at work as soon as I’m allowed.”
The Gunners’ trip to Brighton on Saturday was immediately postponed and further games appear certain to follow.
In a statement released by Arsenal, the club revealed that a ‘significant amount of people’ – including first-team players and several members of staff – will now self-isolate
“The health of our people and the wider public is our priority and that is where our focus is,” said the club Managing Director Vinai Venkatesham.
“We are in active dialogue with all the relevant people to manage this situation appropriately, and we look forward to getting back to training and playing as soon as medical advice allows.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea ace Hudson-Odoi displayed cold symptoms on Monday morning and has stayed away from the club since then. His test result was returned on Thursday night.
“Chelsea men’s team player Callum Hudson-Odoi had a positive test result for Coronavirus returned this evening,” the Premier League club’s statement said.
“Chelsea personnel who had recent close contact with the player in the men’s team building will now self-isolate in line with Government health guidelines.
“These will include initially the full men’s team squad, coaching staff and a number of the backroom staff.”
The club said despite testing positive, the 19-year-old was “doing well and looking forward to returning to the training ground as soon as it is possible”.
Chelsea is scheduled to play at Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon but the match looks unlikely to proceed.
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