Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Premier League club announced on Thursday.
Read Also: Ndidi, Iheanacho feared to have contracted Coronavirus
As a result the Gunners have closed their training ground and club staff who had recent contact with Arteta will now self-isolate.
The club expects it to be a “significant number of people”, including first-team staff and coaches.
In a statement, Arsenal managing director Vinai Venkatesham said Spaniard Arteta, 37, was “disappointed but in good spirits”.
“The health of our people and the wider public is our priority and that is where our focus is,” he added.
“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.”
Arsenal are due to play at Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday (15:00 GMT) but the match has been shelved like the earlier scheduled game between the London side and reigning league champion, Manchester City, which is postponed indefinitely on account of the ravaging pandemic disease.
Five Gunners players were in self-isolation after meeting Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis who is battling the disease. Olympiakos edged out Arsenal in the Europa.
