For the third time in just over two months, the Arsenal u18s have had a fixture postponed due to Covid-related circumstances.

Back in November, an Arsenal u18 clash against Reading was called off due to a number of members of the Arsenal squad needing to isolate following a Covid case.

A month later, their game against Chelsea was called off, this time due to a Covid outbreak in the opposition camp.

As if to complete the set of postponements, the u18s’ match against Aston Villa was called off on Saturday after a Covid outbreak involving neither team – at least not directly.

You may be aware that the Villa first-team have had Covid problems this week, leading to a situation where they had to play their u23s against Liverpool on Friday. The knock-on effect is that the club postponed their academy matches this weekend.

Unsurprisingly, Arsenal’s u18s have completed the joint-fewest league games in the South Division this season, playing nine matches compared to the likes of Spurs, Brighton, Norwich City, and Leicester City on 11.

They aren’t the only ones, with Villa, Chelsea, and West Ham United also on just nine games so far. There’s still plenty of time to complete the campaign between now and May.