Coronavirus: Arsenal's Mikel Arteta tests positive for COVID-19
Gary Neville tore into the Premier League's decision to continue playing games as normal, after it emerged that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta had tested positive for coronavirus. The League is now set to hold an emergency meeting this morning to discuss the potential of suspending the season.
Premier League officials will meet with club members to discuss the next steps after Arteta's positive test.
The Spaniard confirmed on Thursday that he had tested positive for the virus after "feeling poorly".
The announcement came just 24 hours after club officials returned to training following a self-isolation period.
An unconfirmed amount of players had been forced into quarantine after meeting Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis 13 days prior.
Gary Neville tore into the Premier League's handling of the coronavirus outbreak (Image: GETTY)
The Premier League had originally stated that games would continue as planned, before the news emerged of Arteta's positive test.
But immediately afterwards, they confirmed that an emergency meeting would be held on Friday morning between club officials to discuss potential options.
The most likely scenario appears to be that the season will be suspended - effective immediately - following the announcement of Arsenal's game with Brighton being cancelled.
Fans and pundits were quick to question the delay in postponing games, with Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga, MLS, MLB and the NBA all being suspended already.
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"Sending my very best wishes to Mikel Arteta [sic] for a speedy recovery from COVID-19, and any other Arsenal players & staff who may be infected," he wrote.
"Worrying time for them & all their families. Football doesn’t matter, their health does.
"The British government has lost control of this crisis & is refusing to take vital decisions.
"Time the Premier League stepped in & cancelled the rest of the football season. Immediately."
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Match of the Day host Gary Lineker joined in the calls for the Premier League to be suspended, as he declared he hopes the UK Government is making the right decision.
"I hope the government know what they’re doing. Hope they’re getting the right advice. Seems so at odds with other countries," he wrote on Twitter.
"Football is not that important.
"How can it not be [cancelled]? They would only be delaying the inevitable and quite likely exacerbating the situation."