Arsenal have currently cancelled their pre-season tour to America following a number of COVID-19 cases piling up in their camp.
They were scheduled to travel to Florida at the middle of this week but the plans have been cancelled due to some positive cases arising from the Camp. They were due to play Inter Milan on 25 July in the Florida Cup semi-final. If they had won the game they would have played Everton/Millonarios on Sunday 26 July.
Though it’s not clear who and how many of them in the camp tested positive for COVID-19 because the club has remained tight-lipped on the matter concerning the individuals. The club did issue a statement late in the evening that read:
“We fully understand what a disappointment this is for our supporters in America who were looking forward to seeing us compete in the Florida Cup as part of our pre-season build up. Our apologies also go to the organisers of the Florida Cup. This difficult decision is based on ensuring the health and wellbeing of our players and staff.”
“We are now making alternative arrangements in line with the Premier League protocols to continue our preparations for the new season.We hope everyone understands this difficult situation which is beyond anyone’s control.” the club also added.
This comes after the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had relaxed a lot of restricting measures in the country a few weeks ago. Boris Johnson also went ahead with completely removing all the restrictions from this week which was also regarded as the ‘Freedom Day’ in the UK. The complacency has resulted in a massive surge in cases around the United Kingdom.
A lot of Premier League clubs are reporting more and more cases. According to a report from The Telegraph, an unnamed Premier League club had an outbreak of COVID-19 a few weeks back. Since there is less than a month’s time left for the new season of the Premier League to begin, a lot of clubs are looking anxious with the new cases suddenly rising up.
