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The two rivals are set to do battle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend in a crunch match between the top-four challengers.
However, the Gunners have submitted an official request for the game to be postponed.
‘We can confirm we have made an application to the Premier League for the postponement of Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur,’ an Arsenal statement read.
‘We have reluctantly taken this step but we have many players currently unavailable across our squad as a result of Covid, injuries and players away with their countries at AFCON.
‘We will provide more information as soon as it’s available.’
Injuries, suspensions and coronavirus cases have seen Arsenal’s options for senior players limited, with 12 outfield players currently available to play.
The Premier League’s Covid-19 guidelines state that teams must be able to field 13 players for a game to go ahead.
Speaking on Friday, Mikel Arteta said: ‘We had concerns already before the match against Liverpool, and after the game we had some more issues.
‘We haven’t been able to assess the squad yet because we couldn’t fly last night, so we just arrived to the training ground and all the boys are being looked after. So we don’t know.’
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Source : metro
