Brighton Announce Postponement of Arsenal Match Due to Coronavirus

Brighton & Hove Albion have confirmed their Premier League game against Arsenal on Saturday has been postponed after Gunners manager Mikel Arteta contracted the coronavirus. 

The club shared the news on their official website on Thursday night, with chief executive Paul Barber providing a statement:

"First and foremost, our thoughts are with Mikel Arteta, and we wish him a speedy recovery. It's absolutely essential the health and wellbeing of individuals takes priority, and with that in mind Saturday's match has been postponed.

"We apologise to all fans for any inconvenience but trust everyone will understand that we are all facing an unprecedented situation.

"The Premier League has announced this evening that they will convene an emergency meeting of all clubs tomorrow morning, and we will update supporters on future fixtures as and when we are in a position to do so."

The news from Brighton comes ahead of any further decision regarding the cancellation of Premier League matches. 

On Thursday, the Premier League said initially that it expected fixtures to go ahead as normal over the weekend. However, the positive test for Arteta has potentially changed that stance:

The Premier League is holding an "emergency club meeting" on Friday morning, and a suspension of games is expected:

Following Arteta's positive test, Arsenal confirmed that those who have recently come into close contact with the manager will self-isolate, including the entire first-team squad. They added that their "Colney and Hale End training centres will undergo a deep clean, and our other club sites are operating as normal."

On Friday morning, Chelsea also confirmed their forward Callum Hudson-Odoi has been diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus.

Per CNN, as of March 13 the coronavirus has now infected around 125,000 people globally, killing in excess of 4,600.