According to Sky Sports, Arsenal will allow first team squad members to start training at London Colney from next week.
The players have been undertaking individual fitness programmes during the COVID-19 lockdown and it sounds like they’ll continue to work solo or in small groups in adherence with government health guidelines.
Six weeks after Mikel Arteta was diagnosed with coronavirus, we would be the first club in England to return to training.
The report claims that all buildings at the training ground will remain closed which means they will do fitness and ball work outdoors with a select group of coaching staff in attendance.
It is also said that the players, a few of whom were ticked off this week for breaking social distancing rules, will travel alone and return home when their session is done.
If this proves true, it’s a small first step in the direction of ‘normality’ as the Premier League tries to figure out a plan to play the remaining 92 games of the season.
In their last statement on 5 April, the Premier League reiterated its intent to complete the current campaign but did make clear that “any return to play will only be with the full support of the Government and when medical guidance allows.”
Having threatened to punish leagues that fail to complete their campaigns, UEFA changed tact this week with the caveat that qualification for European tournaments should be based on ‘sporting merit’; taken to mean, table rankings or points-per-game. Given Arsenal sit ninth in the Premier League this would likely see us miss out on the Europa League so a return to action is definitely preferable.
In Germany, Bundesliga matches are expected to resume in May, potentially in two weeks time, with 322 people allowed in stadia on matchdays and strict safety measures in place, including regular testing.
In contrast, the Dutch voided the current Eredivisie season denying Ajax, who were top on goal difference, a 35th title.
Truth is I doubt the season will be completed.
The pandemic needs to stop first. There’s a lot more happening with lives, football is on pause right now, hell even the whole world is on pause right now. I miss the beautiful game a lot, but football can wait.
At least until this shit is under absolute control.
I have doubts the season will be completed. However the ONLY option I feel is to pick 23 player squads like in a World Cup, take them to a hotel, strict social distancing and quarantine and then hold a World Cup style 1 month ‘tournament’ in which the remaining 92 games are played out with teams playing every 3 days. So 3 days for games, means 10 games left would take 30 days. OR pretend you will play the tournament and then once Liverpool have won the title, call off the whole thing and freeze the table from that point… Read more »
The issue is that there are hundreds of support staff required to host football games, including commentators/tv staff, ball boys/girls, security, etc. and it would be difficult to get all of them to isolate. Along with that, there would have to be medical staff at every match… Medical staff that would be better utilized helping those in need.
While I would love for football to return, but I think the rest of the world has bigger worries at the moment.
You can’t have a winner and no relegation. The league isn’t just about the big teams
Don’t know about you, but if I’d just sat through what’s likely to be the best part of two months of being unable to visit friends and family, to have the restrictions lifted and be told that I’m being ferried off to some rather Orwellian-sounding football hotel for an entire month and forced to play every few days I’d tell the powers-that-be to get stuffed.
I appreciate they get paid a tonne of money, but please remember the players are indeed human beings. I contend that this is the ‘ONLY option’.
Dude this is such a vacant statement. Football may not be on the top of everyone’s agenda right now but to the many thousands of people who are employed by Football clubs and rely on them to pay mortgages, rent, and put food on their families table, it’s very important to them indeed. The pandemic isn’t going to stop, and unless we find a way to live with it quickly the very businesses we rely on to fund the public sector could evaporate. So yes, the welfare of football like any other business is very important right now. It’s not… Read more »
Also not just football clubs but platforms that rely on them such as Arseblog, the very site we are commenting on.
Well said.
The Dutch approach is a mess and shows exactly why all matches need to be completed.
Denying Liverpool a PL title would be delicious.
We finished 5th last season, so if City are currently banned? Surely that would put us next in-line for CL qualification? since this season never happened, but City’s breaches of FFP did…..
This is the only sensible and pragmatic way to settle this.
Agreed, having said that I’m up for an enormous penalty shoot out to settle the league. Social distancing could definitely be observed, and it would be very entertaining…for a bit.
Seems obvious to me that UEFA has been pretty ordinary in their guidance. Instead of worrying about money they should be worrying about the health of the players and public. Award titles based on current position and call it done so people don’t have to worry about it until next season.
Using an argument like, we would have been in a better position by season’s end is simply not valid, a team could arguably be in a worse position. It’s not as though the season was only a few games old after all.
If UEFA ever start thinking about something other than money, the sun will probably fail to come up the next day.
Just listening to wolves captain Connor coady saying how difficult it was to keep motivated in their game behind closed doors in Greece against olympiakos. Football without fans in stadiums is like a brothel without hookers.
Right. I’m curious to know what the players would be contextualised as in a brothel without hookers……
Struggling to understand how this can be considered “essential travel” ???
Who were the players that got ticked off for breaching social distancing rules?
Pepe, Xhaka, Luiz, Lacazette.
Oh right, thank you for the supply of information sir. Your a gentleman and a scholar. ??
Nothing serious, just a bit too close together, it will be good to get them back to Colney. I’m getting so desperate for some footy that a few pictures of players running would be quite exciting at this stage! Am I the only one who is starting to get sick of the “necessary and essential” narrative? Surely it’s what can be achieved safely and sensibly, and putting a few players on the training pitches should be part of that. Like opening gardening centres and small shops, still social distancing but moves towards some sort of normality? Apparently the players were… Read more »
Oh, yes, nothing serious… Just unable to respect the rules all of us in many countries are compelled to obey. Great examples for ex-captain Xhaka, captain Laca and for Luiz many would see as captain too.
Well, you’re the expert mate…