Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta claims to be feeling “very well” after recovering from a personal bout of coronavirus and is looking forward to getting back to work.
The Spaniard was among the first high-profile figures in English football to test positive for Covid-19.
Premier League action was shut down shortly afterwards, with competitive fixtures around the world now in a state of indefinite postponement.
Arteta has completed his period of self-isolation, with the Gunners camp set to hit 14 days as a collective on Tuesday, but he is being forced to stay at home for now.
The 37-year-old is, however, ready to get back on the field whenever restrictions are lifted, telling La Sexta: “I’m very well now, I feel that I have recovered.
Next Match
“It took me three or four days to start feeling much better and with more energy, to leave the symptoms behind and now, the truth is that I feel very well.”
Arteta was laid low after it was revealed that Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis had contracted Covid-19.
The Greek shipping magnate had visited north London during a Europa League meeting with Arsenal for his side.
Explaining his experience of the disease, Arteta said: “Everything happened very fast. On Tuesday afternoon I was feeling so-so and I went to see the doctor but he wasn’t there.
“I got a call from the board of directors after training while I was in my car and they told me that the president of Olympiacos had tested positive and everyone that had been in contact was at risk.
“I went on to tell them that I wasn’t feeling well and that we had a situation because we had lots of players that had been in contact with them [Olympiacos]. We had a game against Manchester City the next day and obviously we couldn’t put lots of people at risk without saying anything.
“I had the test done last Wednesday and I was diagnosed on Friday, when we had to communicate it to the Premier League that I had tested positive.
“Obviously all those that had been in contact with me had to go into quarantine, and consequently, games had to be suspended.”