Arsenal’s home fixture against Wolves has been postponed due to the combination of a number of Covid-19 cases and injuries in the visitors’ squad, the Premier League has confirmed.
Bruno Lage’s side made a request to the Premier League for their trip to Arsenal to be called off following a number of positive Covid-19 cases in their camp, combined with injuries, led to Wolves having an “insufficient number of players available to fulfil the fixture”.
Wolves also had their Boxing Day fixture against Watford postponed after Watford were unable to field a team.
A statement from the Premier League read: “Arsenal’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Emirates Stadium, due to be played at 12:30pm on Tuesday 28 December, has regrettably been postponed.
“The Premier League board accepted the postponement application as Wolverhampton Wanderers does not have the required number of players available for the match (13 outfield players and one goalkeeper) as a result of a number of Covid-19 cases and injuries at the club.”
The fixture becomes the 15th Premier League match to be postponed this month due to a surge in positive Covid cases throughout top-flight squads.
Three Premier League matches scheduled to take place on Boxing Day, including Liverpool’s home match against Leeds United, were called off, while Leeds’ match against Aston Villa, also scheduled to be played on 28 December, was also postponed on Sunday.
The Premier League added: “While recognising a number of clubs are experiencing Covid-19 outbreaks, it is the clubs’ and the league’s collective intention to continue the current fixture schedule where safely possible.
“The health and wellbeing of all concerned remains our priority and the league will continue to monitor and reflect public health guidance, always proceeding with caution.”
