Arsenal request postponement of North London derby due to COVID-19 and injury absences
Arsenal ask to postpone fixture
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Arsenal have made a formal request to the Premier League to postpone Sunday's north London derby at Tottenham due to having an insufficient number of players to fulfil the fixture. The league will make a decision on Saturday whether the fixture will go ahead as planned or to postpone it.
Tottenham are set to host Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend as the two rivals engage in the fierce North London derby but Arsenal have made a request to the league to postpone the fixture as they reportedly have an insufficient number of players in the squad. A host of players are missing for the Gunners due to coronavirus, injury, suspension and as well as because they're on duty with their nations at the Africa Cup of Nations.
It is understood that the Tottenham hierarchy are angry at the notion of postponing the game as they believe there isn't credible proof of a coronavirus outbreak at Arsenal. The Premier League had earlier today accepted Burnley's request of postponing their game against Leicester City due to similar reasons.
The league will decide on Saturday whether the fixture will go ahead or be postponed as they convene in a meeting. The Premier League released a statement confirming that they received a request from Arsenal to postpone the game on Sunday.
"The Premier League has received a postponement request from Arsenal FC relating to their away match against Tottenham Hotspur, due to be played at 4.30pm on Sunday 16 January. The Premier League Board will meet tomorrow to review the application and inform both clubs and their fans of its decision," reads the statement.
🚨 We can confirm we've made an application to the Premier League to postpone Sunday’s north London derby.#TOTARS
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 14, 2022
