MIKEL ARTETA warned that Prem stars will find it hard not to break coronavirus rules.
Players will be ordered to social distance when they return to training, which league chiefs hope will be on May 18.
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Mikel Arteta has admitted that he fears players will struggle when football restartsCredit: PA:Press Association
But Arsenal boss Arteta said: “We have to be very strict with the protocols.
“The hardest thing is going to be to educate the players and everybody involved at the training ground and on match days that this is different.”
Four Gunners Covidiots — Nicolas Pepe, David Luiz, Granit Xhaka and Alexandre Lacazette — flaunted Government lockdown rules two weeks ago.
And former Chelsea winger Salomon Kalou caused outrage in Germany on Monday as he ignored Hertha Berlin’s training ground rules with fist-bumps and handshakes.
Arteta added: “Common sense will dictate the next step. We cannot rush it.
We have to be very strict with the protocols. The hardest thing is going to be to educate the players
Mikel Arteta
“We need to play, we are willing to play – it is important for us and society and for the economy. We have that responsibility.”
Arteta also lifted the lid on the Gunners’ new regime since players returned to their London Colney training HQ for individual work on April 27.
The Spaniard, 38, revealed: “The players have to arrive five minutes before the session in their own car, with their own clothes, ball, water, boots and protein bar for after.
“They don’t touch each other – they don’t even look at each other.
“There is one player per pitch – nothing else — and they finish after an hour.
“It is safer than the park, it is our grass to protect them from injuries. In the park, sometimes with five kids chasing them, it’s not the right environment.”
English football was rocked on March 12 when Arteta became its first big name to test positive for Covid-19.
He said: “I passed into on my missus. It took me a week or to recover so but I’ve been lucky, it didn’t hit me that hard. Thank god I didn’t pass it onto any of the staff or players.”
Mikel Arteta urges nation to help NHS and stay at home after Arsenal boss was struck down with coronavirus
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
