What would you do about the league season?

[Mac76]

Not sure how many of you are / aren't members but this message has been sent from the club:



First and foremost, everyone at Arsenal Football Club hopes that you and your families are keeping safe and well.  This is a worrying time, and while we all miss the excitement of the game we love, our priority at the moment has to be health and wellbeing as we face one of the most significant global public health emergencies in recent times.

Do stay safe and follow official advice to protect yourself and those around you.

You will have seen today’s announcement that the 2019/20 season will be extended indefinitely, and that the professional game is further postponed in England until at least 30 April 2020. We are fully supportive of this decision which was endorsed at this morning’s Premier League Shareholder Meeting.

Of course, we all want to be back playing football as soon as we possibly can, but only when it is safe to be doing so.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING ACROSS OUR CLUB?
You can imagine that as this fast-moving situation has developed, we have been taking extensive steps to ensure we keep operating efficiently while protecting our players and staff.

Our training centres in London Colney and Hale End were closed for deep cleaning after Mikel’s diagnosis with the virus but have now re-opened with a small workforce to maintain the facilities and training pitches. 

A number of staff, including Mikel and the men’s first team squad, are currently isolating at home.  We’re pleased to say that Mikel is feeling much better. He’s in good spirits, doing detailed planning with the coaches and speaking to the players regularly. The women’s and Academy teams are also currently staying at home. All our players are looking forward to getting back out on the training pitches as soon as the situation allows.

The players have been given specific training and dietary regimes to follow at home and are in daily contact with our coaches and support staff. As you will have seen from social media some of them are certainly embracing this changed new world.

Our Highbury House office is now closed, and all our staff from that building, as well as other staff who can work remotely, are operating from home. Thanks to the detailed contingency plans we had in place, we are able to operate effectively in this way.

You will not be surprised to hear that our retail stores and Emirates Stadium Tours are closed with all meetings and events at Emirates Stadium postponed until further notice. The Hub, home of Arsenal in the Community at Emirates Stadium, has also closed until further notice.

We continue to support our local Islington community in these difficult times and we are in discussions with local groups to find new ways to support our most vulnerable groups as the situation develops. We are liaising with the local authority and the areas being explored range from providing online coaching and teaching, and staff volunteering to have regular phone contact with elderly local people feeling isolated. We are also looking into how we can support our casual workers.

FOOTBALL CALENDAR AND TICKETING
We will update as soon as we know what’s happening with the fixture schedule.

Understandably, we have received many questions from fans regarding ticketing for forthcoming matches.

Please be assured that all match tickets and purchased hospitality will be valid for rearranged fixtures once they are confirmed.

Information about renewals for next season will be updated as soon as there is more clarity on when the current 2019/20 season will end.

All updates will appear on Arsenal.com and across our social media.

We will get back to you as soon as possible. We are here to listen and help as best we can.

YOUR WELLBEING
Finally, and most importantly, keep well and follow the guidance of the World Health Organisation on the prevention of the spread of the virus.

We look forward to being back on the pitch soon as it is possible.  We wish you and your loved ones good health.

Take care everyone.

The directors, players and staff at Arsenal Football Club

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Gary Neville and Carragher are on a debate on Sky Sports News.

Neville loves the word 'essentially'.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Not sure how many of you are / aren't members but this message has been sent from the club:



First and foremost, everyone at Arsenal Football Club hopes that you and your families are keeping safe and well.  This is a worrying time, and while we all miss the excitement of the game we love, our priority at the moment has to be health and wellbeing as we face one of the most significant global public health emergencies in recent times.

Do stay safe and follow official advice to protect yourself and those around you.

You will have seen today’s announcement that the 2019/20 season will be extended indefinitely, and that the professional game is further postponed in England until at least 30 April 2020. We are fully supportive of this decision which was endorsed at this morning’s Premier League Shareholder Meeting.

Of course, we all want to be back playing football as soon as we possibly can, but only when it is safe to be doing so.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING ACROSS OUR CLUB?
You can imagine that as this fast-moving situation has developed, we have been taking extensive steps to ensure we keep operating efficiently while protecting our players and staff.

Our training centres in London Colney and Hale End were closed for deep cleaning after Mikel’s diagnosis with the virus but have now re-opened with a small workforce to maintain the facilities and training pitches. 

A number of staff, including Mikel and the men’s first team squad, are currently isolating at home.  We’re pleased to say that Mikel is feeling much better. He’s in good spirits, doing detailed planning with the coaches and speaking to the players regularly. The women’s and Academy teams are also currently staying at home. All our players are looking forward to getting back out on the training pitches as soon as the situation allows.

The players have been given specific training and dietary regimes to follow at home and are in daily contact with our coaches and support staff. As you will have seen from social media some of them are certainly embracing this changed new world.

Our Highbury House office is now closed, and all our staff from that building, as well as other staff who can work remotely, are operating from home. Thanks to the detailed contingency plans we had in place, we are able to operate effectively in this way.

You will not be surprised to hear that our retail stores and Emirates Stadium Tours are closed with all meetings and events at Emirates Stadium postponed until further notice. The Hub, home of Arsenal in the Community at Emirates Stadium, has also closed until further notice.

We continue to support our local Islington community in these difficult times and we are in discussions with local groups to find new ways to support our most vulnerable groups as the situation develops. We are liaising with the local authority and the areas being explored range from providing online coaching and teaching, and staff volunteering to have regular phone contact with elderly local people feeling isolated. We are also looking into how we can support our casual workers.

FOOTBALL CALENDAR AND TICKETING
We will update as soon as we know what’s happening with the fixture schedule.

Understandably, we have received many questions from fans regarding ticketing for forthcoming matches.

Please be assured that all match tickets and purchased hospitality will be valid for rearranged fixtures once they are confirmed.

Information about renewals for next season will be updated as soon as there is more clarity on when the current 2019/20 season will end.

All updates will appear on Arsenal.com and across our social media.

We will get back to you as soon as possible. We are here to listen and help as best we can.

YOUR WELLBEING
Finally, and most importantly, keep well and follow the guidance of the World Health Organisation on the prevention of the spread of the virus.

We look forward to being back on the pitch soon as it is possible.  We wish you and your loved ones good health.

Take care everyone.

The directors, players and staff at Arsenal Football Club

Arsenal.

That was almost human.

[Niall_Quinn]

Football, as we know it, is done. It had become all about the money and the growth of revenues, growth of fees and player wages, growth of share values. A global mini-economy in its own right. Well that's gone now. If what medical professionals are predicting is true, we won't be seeing mass gatherings of people for months to come, maybe years. I guess they can try to carry on behind closed doors, with canned applause and recorded (now thankfully polite and politically correct) fan responses. "Arsenal, Arsenal FC, we're at LEAST as good as any team, the world has ever seen! But not worse! Were all the same!"

i sincerely hope the big clubs don't have their hands stuck out for bail-outs either. They've all had years banking it big time. Bail out money needs to go to worthy causes. So how are they going to keep paying Neymar half a million quid a week? Or Ozil 350k? Does this influence Auba's demands for 300k a week, at all? All that cash, every week. The big sponsorship deals from companies that will all now have their own problems. Football agents will all leave and start selling black market ventilators to hospitals at huge mark-ups. How long will people who need to pay food and rent stick with TV subscriptions for games that aren't happening, or are happening behind closed doors?

How are they going to keep this from collapsing totally? It's done. They'll have to restructure the whole thing and think much, much smaller.

[Niall_Quinn]

False alarm! We're saved

https://newsthump.com/2020/03/19/fur...-to-asda-cctv/

[Marc Overmars]

Dybala tests positive, while asymptomatic.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

So does Paolo Maldini and his son.

Holt and Winter on Sunday Supplement seem to finally accept that there is not going to be a resumption of football for a long time.

[Letters]

The three sweetest words in the English language
Null and void

[Niall_Quinn]

So does Paolo Maldini and his son.

Holt and Winter on Sunday Supplement seem to finally accept that there is not going to be a resumption of football for a long time.

We don't need them anymore then, do we? Pros have raced ahead of the cons.

[Marc Overmars]

The more this goes on, the more I think it is complete wishful thinking that this season can be completed by the end of June.