ARSENAL have reportedly returned no set of negative coronavirus testings despite last Saturday’s opponents West Ham returning three.
The Hammers, who lost 2-1 to Mikel Arteta’s side at the Emirates, had manager David Moyes plus midfielders Josh Cullen and Issa Diop miss out last night’s Carabao Cup game with Hull.
That is because they all tested positive for Covid prior to the clash, which the East London outfit won 5-1.
Following the Premier League match with West Ham, The Athletic claims Arsenal continued testing as normal and held a round of checks on Monday with all negative results being returned yesterday.
Cullen was not involved during that contest against the Gunners, but Diop featured for the full 90 minutes while Moyes was also on the touchline throughout.
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Arsenal travel to Leicester today for their third round cup tie with a 7.45pm kick off.
Both players were named in the starting XI for West Ham on Monday but were instantly withdrawn when the club discovered they had tested positive along with the boss.
All three left the stadium, with Moyes’ assistant Alan Irvine saying: “At 6.20pm we suddenly got some info.
“Immediately at that point you’re thinking we’ve got a game in an hour and 10 minutes so we had to focus on that, and that’s what we did.
“We had to pick a different team. I had a chat with the players, explained the situation and then we got on with the game.
“There was contact in so far as we were in the same area as David. We’d been at the stadium, as we usually get there one hour and 45 to two hours before, so we had been around.
“We were shocked by the news because we have had so many tests and not had any positive. We do know that the tests are not completely accurate so we will wait and see what happens.”
Both teams’ medical departments consulted with two off-site EFL doctors before the game was given the go-ahead with safety protocols being followed also.
Arsenal manager Arteta was among the first people to test positive for coronavirus back in March before the season was halted.
Neighbours Tottenham had their Carabao Cup tie at Leyton Orient postponed yesterday due to the League Two side returning a number of positive tests.
