Mikel Arteta questions the unfair treatment of Arsenal after Covid related Tottenham Hotspur postponements
Tottenham Hotspur had a Covid outbreak within their camp, which had resulted in the postponement of the match against Brighton and Hove Albion, which prompted Mikel Arteta to raise questions against the unfair treatment Arsenal received due to the “vagueness” of these Covid related postponements.
Back in August, the Gunners had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Alex Runarsson missing from the squad that faced Brentford in the Premier League. The trio had tested positive before the game, and their team endured a 2-0 loss at the hands of the newly promoted team.
According to BBC, Arteta conveyed his disapproval about how the match against Brentford did not get postponed. He added how safety should always be the priority which should be applied equally for all teams.
“You don’t know when you have to play and when you don’t. I think the decision has to be made to protect the players and the environment. Afterwards we need to maintain certain criteria so the clubs that are competing can all compete in the same conditions.”
“It’s about the decision making that goes the same way for everybody and this is what we have to hope for. We [want to] know the context where we’re going to be competing and if there are certain things that you don’t meet, then the game is off, and if you do, the game is on.”
Convincing? Or perhaps not?
What is funny is how the Arsenal boss left out the reason why there was a difference in the first place. Maybe he could have forgotten? Who knows? However, when making such claims, you always have to verify any information that you provide.
Spurs requested a postponement from the Premier League, and subsequently, the match got rescheduled. However, the North London rivals did not contact the league and request any help from them. The rules clearly state that a club should apply for it to be approved.
That is a pretty big difference that is left out when the Spaniard addressed the matter. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, people can make mistakes, but they should apologise for it. As for the health concerns, we doubt anyone would disagree with him.
More Tottenham Hotspur News
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- Report: Brighton vs Tottenham Hotspur postponed due to Covid outbreak at Spurs
- Tottenham Hotspur and Rennes at loggerheads regarding postponed UEFA Conference League tie
Suppose the league implements a rule where matches would get postponed regardless of the number of cases there would not be much backlash if maximum safety is the desired outcome. The downside is that it would lead to heavy fixture congestion and other issues like broadcasting rights, TV deals etc.
That is why we could understand the current system used by Premier League since clubs would only request a postponement if the situation is uncontrollable.
