The Premier League have confirmed that Sunday’s North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham has been postponed.
The Gunners earned a creditable 0-0 draw against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final, though it was a game that saw them suffer injuries to Cedric Soares and Bukayo Saka as well as seeing Granit Xhaka pick up the fifth red card of his Arsenal career.
Those absences, combined with the loss of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny to the African Cup of Nations, as well as apparent Covid cases within the squad, saw Arsenal submit a request to see their game against Spurs postponed.
That request is said to have angered Spurs, who believe that Arsenal have not suffered a significant Covid outbreak, and therefore the game should go ahead, though the Premier League have released a statement to say that the game has been called off due to the Gunners having ‘fewer than the required number of players’ available for the clash.
🗣 "I honestly believe that all teams not just in the Premier League should be made to play their fixtures."
🗣 "Balogun's on loan, Maitland-Niles on loan, Xhaka red card, that's not anybody else's fault."@GNev2 on the postponement requests due to players missing pic.twitter.com/mDIriEFWDQ
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 15, 2022
“Following a request from Arsenal FC, the Premier League Board met today and regrettably agreed to postpone the club’s away fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, due to be played at 4:30pm on Sunday 16 January.
“With Arsenal having fewer than the required number of players available for the match (13 outfield players and one goalkeeper), the Board accepted the club’s application. The decision is a result of a combination of COVID-19, existing and recent injuries and players on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. All clubs are able to apply for a postponement if COVID-19 infections are a factor in their request.
“The League apologises for the inconvenience and disruption caused to supporters who would have attended or watched the game – we are fully aware that postponements disappoint clubs and fans.”
