Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says he has now fully recovered after contracting the deadly coronavirus.
The 37-year-old tested positive 10 days ago, just before the Premier League postponed all its fixtures.
Players and staff at Arsenal have been self-isolating since Arteta was diagnosed, but the Spaniard believes he is now back to full health.
Thanks for your words and support.Feeling better already.We’re all facing a huge & unprecedented challenge.Everyone’s health is all that matters right now.Protect each other by following the guidelines & we’ll come through this together.Well done PL for making the right decisions pic.twitter.com/0rnwHmQWha
— Mikel Arteta (@m8arteta) March 13, 2020
‘I’m very well now, I feel that I have recovered,’ Arteta told Spanish television channel La Sexta.
‘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 self-isolated after coming into contact with Olympiacos president Evangelos Marinakis, who subsequently tested positive, during Arsenal’s recent Europa League clash.
‘Everything happened very fast,’ added Arteta. ‘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 the president of Olympiacos had tested positive and everyone who 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.
‘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 who had been in contact with me had to go into quarantine, and consequently games had to be suspended.’