Sky Sports News reported the news of the North London Derby postponement after the Premier League agreed to Arsenal’s request for the game to be called off due to injuries, Covid cases and players at the African Cup of Nations.
North London Derby Postponement Confirmed
Premier League Agree to Gunners’ Request
Following a request to postpone the North London Derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal on Friday 14th January, the Premier League have confirmed that the game will not go ahead. Arsenal claim that the reason for their request was due to;
“Many players currently unavailable across our squad as a result of Covid, injuries and players away with their countries at AFCON”.
Tottenham Anger
Sky Sports also reported that Spurs were angry at the request and believe that there is not an outbreak of Covid in the camp of their bitter rivals and that the game should be going ahead as planned.
Premier League Statement
The Premier released a statement on Saturday 15th January;
“Following a request from Arsenal, the Premier League board met today and regrettably agreed to postpone the club’s away fixture against Tottenham. 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 statement went on to state the reasons for the game being called off;
“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.”
Tottenham feel that players being at the AFCON as well as players being loaned out by Arsenal should not be taken into account although the club are yet to issue an official response to the game’s postponement. Spurs already have games to play against Leicester City and Burnley as well as this North London Derby to fit in as their fixtures suddenly start to pile up.
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