Tottenham vs Arsenal: North London derby postponed after Gunners’ request

The north London derby between Tottenham and Arsenal on Sunday has been postponed.

The Premier League has accepted Arsenal’s request to call off the match after the Gunners claimed they had “many players currently unavailable across our squad as a result of Covid, injuries and players away with their countries at AFCON”.

Sky Sports News understands the Tottenham hierarchy were angry at the thought of the game being postponed and believe there is not currently a coronavirus outbreak at Arsenal.

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville reacted to the Premier League’s decision by tweeting: “Game off. What started out as postponements due to a pandemic has now become about clubs not having their best team.

“The Premier League must stop this now, draw a line in the sand and say all games go ahead unless you have an exceptional amount of cases. It’s wrong.”

A statement released by the Premier League on Saturday afternoon read: “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 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.”

The Premier League also confirmed that “all clubs are able to apply for a postponement if COVID-19 infections are a factor in their request”, but did not specify if the number of cases was taken into account.

On Friday, Mikel Arteta insisted Arsenal’s “intention is always to play”.

Gunners midfielder Martin Odegaard missed Thursday’s goalless Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg draw at Liverpool due to Covid, while Emile Smith Rowe and Takehiro Tomiyasu had been ruled out through injury.

Cedric Soares was forced off early at Anfield, with Bukayo Saka also taking a knock, while Granit Xhaka’s first-half red card would have ruled him out of the Tottenham game.

Meanwhile, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are all away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

It is the third time this season Tottenham have had a Premier League fixture postponed due to Covid, while it is the second match Arsenal have had called off – but the first at their reqeust.

Gary Neville has said the Premier League must force teams to fulfil their fixtures after Arsenal requested to postpone the derby, while Jamie Carragher believes clubs are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking on Friday Night Football, Neville said: “I honestly believe that all teams, not just in the Premier League but the EFL now, must be made to play their fixtures.

“Folarin Balogun and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have gone on loan, Granit Xhaka’s got a red card – that’s not the fault of anybody else. We can’t be calling fixtures off.

“If it was purely down to Covid in extraordinary circumstances where there was 10 or 15 players out, but we’re now talking about teams for the last few weeks where there’s no doubt they’ve been calling games off based upon whether they think they’ve got the best squad or team to win a game. It’s got to stop.

“For me, it [Arsenal’s request] should be rejected.”

Carragher said: “No other league in Europe is doing this, certainly not in those big leagues. Bayern Munich played a 16-year-old in their last game and that tells you exactly where they are. Why can’t we do that? Why can’t the young players be given an opportunity in these circumstances?

“You’ve got U23 squads and younger players, and this is an opportunity where they can get a chance.

“I know there’s a lot riding on Premier League games but at this moment there’s no doubt teams up and down this country are taking advantage of the situation.” – Sky Sports