Would like more clarity on why we are postponing matches, admits Mikel Arteta

It was confirmed earlier today by the Premier League that they had agreed to Burnley's request to postpone their fixture against Leicester on Saturday. The Clarets were without seven players after they recorded positive tests for Covid-19. Premier League rules state that a club must play a game if they have 13 outfield players and one goalkeeper available to feature. Burnley's postponed fixture against Leicester was the 20th game to be postponed in the English top-flight this season due to the coronavirus.

Several managers such as the Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhüttl have called for the Premier League to be more transparent in their ruling when deciding which fixture goes ahead while others are postponed. Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel also admitted that he was hopeful that clubs were not taking advantage of the rule regarding postponement of fixtures and would be very angry if that was the case. Arteta has joined his colleagues in calling for more clarity and urged the league to protect the integrity of the competition.

“The authorities have to take care of that, they make the rules. We don’t get enough information, about the reasons behind that. Over a month ago I asked for more clarity, there was always a possibility when things opened how people were going to use,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference.

"[I would like more clarity] on the reasons why we are postponing matches, why some, and why not others, to maintain the integrity of the competition. This is happening in many different leagues, we have to focus on what we can do in this to try to maintain the level of admiration for the Premier League, we have to protect that."