ARSENAL will today become the first Premier League club to return to training.
SunSport revealed yesterday that the Gunners return training to the players this week.
The club have now confirmed the squad will end 47 days of isolation this morning by reporting back for duty.
Arsenal’s ten-pitch Hertfordshire HQ will be strictly conforming Government social-distancing rules — with players working on a different pitch and will have their own footballs to avoid any threat of cross-contamination.
A club source revealed: “We have been looking at opening up the training ground for a couple of weeks now because our players have been in lockdown longer than any other club’s.
“The players will continue to train in strict isolation on separate pitches and will not be allowed to mingle or socialise together.”
The return to Colney is strictly voluntary although the vast majority of the 25-man senior squad are expected to take advantage of the opportunity today.
And the decision came just days after four Arsenal players – Nicolas Pepe, Granit Xhaka, David Luiz and Alexandre Lacazette – were reminded of the club’s isolation rules.
TRAIN ALONE
The players will travel alone to the training ground in groups of five for a series of daily one-hour work-outs which will be supervised by the club’s fitness coaches and medical staff.
There will be no access to the gym or changing rooms as all the buildings will remain locked, which means players will have to arrive in their training kit and go home to shower.
It is not yet known if boss Mikel Arteta, who became British football’s first coronavirus victim last month, will attend but the manager is likely to be present after receiving the all-clear to return to work following his illness.
Arteta underwent a coronavirus test on March 10 after he started to feel sick and he was diagnosed as positive with the illness two days later.
Four players and a number of staff had already been put in quarantine after they had been in contact with Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis, who also tested positive.
But Arteta’s positive test saw the closure of the training ground as self-isolation began before the lockdown came into effect.
As a result, Colney has undergone a deep cleaning process to ensure there is no trace of the virus at any of the facilities and a skeleton staff of groundsmen, cleaners and security guards have continued to maintain the £10million training HQ.
Supporters have been told to stay away as the players are under strict orders not to sign autographs or pose for selfies.
