Arsenal have confirmed the scale of their Covid-19 scare last week, revealing four first-team players, including club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had tested positive for the virus.
On-the-pitch, the Gunners’ Premier League campaign got off to a miserable start, losing 2-0 at the hands of newly promoted Brentford.
But there were similarly chaotic scenes behind-closed-doors, with the entire squad and coaching staff taking Covid tests on the eve of the clash, to ensure the game could go ahead.
Premier League players already have to test twice-a-week, but such was the concern regarding a possible outbreak at London Colney, emergency tests were conducted on Friday.
Ultimately, the game went ahead, but Mikel Arteta was unable to call upon either of his first-choice strikers Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
And Arsenal have now revealed they were two of a quartet of players that returned positive tests.
Ahead of this weekend’s clash with Chelsea, the Gunners released an update on their official site , confirming that along with the two strikers, Willian and Alex Runarsson also tested positive.
However, Aubameyang could be in line for his first league appearance of the season, with the club outlining: “Auba tested positive for Covid-19 and was unavailable for last Friday’s match at Brentford.
“Auba is now negative on Covid-19 testing, is well and following all protocols for return to play. He will return to training and be assessed prior to Sunday’s match.”
Lacazette will miss Sunday’s game however as he continues to recover from the virus, as will Runarsson.
As for Willian, Arsenal confirmed he “has also tested positive for Covid-19 and is adhering to protocols. His health and fitness will be monitored and assessed ahead of Sunday’s match”.
The Gunners also saw their pre-season preparations affected when a planned trip to the United States was cancelled due to an increase in cases.
In other injury news, Thomas Partey has been pencilled in to return by the end of August after the Ghana international suffered an ankle ligament injury against Chelsea in pre-season.
Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel are also hoping to return to training in the coming weeks, having picked up ankle and knee injuries respectively during the summer.
It remains to be seen whether Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale will be available for the London derby at the Emirates this weekend.
Both are closing in on moves to the club, but will need to be registered as Arsenal players before midday on Friday in order to be involved.
