Arteta to miss Arsenal FC Premier League clash against Man City.

Gunners boss Arteta has been confirmed to have tested positive for Covid-19.

It is the second time Arteta has tested positive for Covid after contracting the virus in March last year before the Premier League came to a halt

Arsenal FC have revealed that manager Mikel Arteta will miss their next Premier League match against Manchester City on New Year’s Day after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Spaniard is currently isolating in line with Government guidelines and is expected to return to the dugout soon.

It is the second time Arteta has tested positive for Covid after contracting the virus in March last year [2020] before the Premier League came to a halt.

The north London club released a statement that read: "Mikel Arteta will miss our match against Manchester City on New Year's Day after testing positive for Covid-19.

"Mikel is isolating in line with Government guidelines and we wish him well."

One player who is sure to start the match against Pep Guardiola’s Cityzens is Martin Odegaard.

The Norway captain has been a sensation for the Gunners in recent months and Arteta has compared him to ex-Man City star David Silva, adding “Martin has got a tremendous quality.”

“That's a big name,” Arteta said as Arsenal’s official website quoted. “My opinion is David (Silva) is the best I've seen playing between the lines for the last 20 years.

“Martin has got a tremendous quality and the capacity to unlock situations and put players through to generate open spaces in tight areas.

“I’m really happy [with him] and now he's improving in his goal threat as well so we have a big player there that is very willing to become one of the best, but it's still very early.”

The last time Arsenal were out, they beat Norwich 5-0 at Carrow Road and the result put them firmly in contention to secure a Champions League place.

However, Arteta felt there is “room for improvement” in his side.

"We go game by game," Arteta said. "[At Norwich] we played some really good football, we won the game, we competed really well, but there’s still a lot of things that we have to do much better.

"We have a lot of room for improvement and I’m focused on that, maintain the things that we do so well now that giving us results and consistency, and try to improve the rest and the results will come.

"It's still a long long season to go ahead with a lot of unpredictable things probably that are going to happen, but we are there [in the top four]. We want to continue that and we want to continue improving and playing better and better and then let's see where we get. "I insist the better that we play, the better that we understand the spaces, how we have to attack, the movement, the timing, the cohesion, and the execution becomes better because you get in a much better position when you enter the final third.

"When that happens and you have a clear idea of how to attack those situations and goals or goal situations will come. Then it will come down to the effectiveness of the players in their decision making."

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