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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hopes to have Kieran Tierney available for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Manchester City as discussions continue about his need for self-isolation.
Tierney, as well as compatriot Ryan Christie, were instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days after their Scottish teammate Stuart Armstrong tested positive for Covid-19 while on international duty.
Both Tierney and Christie returned the tests negative and have insisted that they meet social distancing guidelines.
But the Lothian Health Protection Team identified the two players, as well as two back-room staff from Scotland, as close contacts of Armstrong.
Tierney missed all three of Scotland’s games and told the Arsenal website that he was “very disappointed and frustrated to be in this situation.”
But, as talks continue to free Tierney from his period of self-isolation, Arteta is hopeful that the full-back can perform at Etihad Stadium this weekend.
“We are still in talks with the authorities,” said the Arsenal manager.
“This is getting very complicated when you send players overseas and obviously lose control.
“Some authorities have different regulations than the current ones in the Premier League.”
The number of positive tests for Covid-19 has increased during the international hiatus, with the Republic of Ireland team hit by a series of forced withdrawals, while Portugal’s captain Cristiano Ronaldo was also a confirmed case of coronavirus.
Hertha Berlin also revealed that Matteo Guendouzi, a signing on loan from Arsenal on the closing day, is in isolation after returning from the French Under-21 team and testing positive.
But Arteta believes it is important to keep international matches on the schedule with big tournaments just around the corner.
“I think international football has to move on because there are some competitions that have to go through,” he added.
“They were already delayed last summer and they have to be done because those organizations have to be sustainable and we all understand that.
“What we are asking is that we try to unify those protocols, rules to try to create a safe environment for our players.
“But also protecting the clubs because obviously the impact of having some players out when we resume the Premier League is really great.”
Arteta spoke to the media for the first time since Arsene Wenger, her former boss at Arsenal, published her autobiography.
The Frenchman was in charge of Arsenal for 22 years, but has not returned to the club since his departure in May 2018, although he revealed that he would like to return as a fan when coronavirus regulations allow.
“ I would like to see him around us again, ” Arteta said of Wenger’s welcome to the Emirates Stadium.
‘He was a huge figure for me. He is someone from whom I can still learn many things. I would like to have him closer to us.
Obviously the current environment has not allowed us to do so, but I think he is a figure that has to be very present in what we do in this football club because he is, in my opinion, the one who had the vision and helped this club to evolve and to the club that is today. ‘
Arteta also declined to be drawn on whether Thomas Partey’s hiring deadline will make his Manchester City debut, given that he has yet to train with his teammates.
He also suggested that William Saliba would not go on loan to the Sky Bet Championship after the club had looked into the possibility of bringing the teenage defender some football out of the club.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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