Brilio.net - Pelatih Arsenal Mikel Arteta dinyatakan positif terjangkit virus Corona (Covid-19), Kamis (12/3) malam waktu setempat. Kabar ini diungkap langsung oleh manajemen Arsenal melalui akun Instagram resmi mereka. Karenanya, skuat Arsenal termasuk staf yang belakangan kontak langsung akan diisolasi.

Kabar ini membuat pihak Premier League langsung mengadakan rapat darurat. Sementara itu, pusat latihan The Gunners juga ditutup sebagai upaya pencegahan penyebaran virus Corona.

"Pusat latihan London Colney ditutup setelah Mikel Arteta dinyatakan positif Covid-19," ungkap pernyataan resmi Arsenal. "Personel Arsenal yang belakangan kontak langsung dengan Mikel sekarang mengisolasi diri sesuai arahan pemerintah," paparnya lagi.

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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, 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. Managing director Vinai Venkatesham said: The health of our people and the wider public is our priority and that is where our focus is. Our thoughts are with Mikel who is disappointed but in good spirits. 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. Head of football Raul Sanllehi added: Mikel and the full first-team squad, players and staff, will be fully supported, and we look forward to getting back to training and playing as soon as medical advice allows. Obviously Mikels full recovery is the priority now for us all. We will work with Public Health England on the next steps in regard to our facilities and staff, and with the Premier League, Football Association and relevant clubs around our forthcoming matches in the Premier League and Emirates FA Cup. 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. We are now working to trace any other people who have had recent close contact with Mikel. We will let them know what has happened and they should follow the NHS guidance which is likely to recommend self-isolation.

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Sementara itu, Arsenal akan mematuhi prosedur kesehatan dari pemerintah Inggris terkait virus Corona ini. Staf dan pemain Arsenal akan diisolasi, serta pusat latihan akan dilakukan sterilisasi.

Sementara itu, Direktur Eksekutif Arsenal Vinai Venkatesham mendukung penuh pemulihan kesehatan Arteta dan memprioritaskan kesehatan skuat The Gunners.

Pihak klub juga akan bekerja sama dengan otoritas kesehatan Inggris untuk langkah selanjutnya terkait fasilitas latihan dan staff mereka. Selain itu, Arsenal juga akan bekerja sama dengan Premier League dan Football Association (FA) serta klub-klub sepak bola lainnya terkait pertandingan yang akan datang di Premier League maupun Emirates FA Cup.

Situasi ini membuat Arsenal tak dapat memainkan beberapa pertandingan pada tanggal yang sudah dijadwalkan dalam waktu dekat. Klub juga tengah berupaya untuk melacak orang-orang yang kemungkinan memiliki kontak dengan Mikel Arteta belakangan ini. Upaya ini dilakukan sebagai langkah pencegahan penyebaran virus Corona (Covid-19).