Barcelona insist their friendly against Arsenal will go ahead on Thursday morning, despite having to call off their match against Juventus.
On Saturday, Barcelona were forced to cancel their friendly match against Juventus FC, as a significant portion of their squad had viral gastroenteritis.
This is obviously a concern for Arsenal, with the Gunners set to play against the La Liga side in the early hours of Thursday morning.
But as it stands, Barcelona continue to claim that game is going ahead.
Barcelona posted an official statement in which they encouraged fans to attend the game, adding that the two teams are in close contact and both have the utmost confidence the game will go ahead.
Mundo Deportivo report that many players were unaffected by the virus, and they took part in training exercises on Saturday.
Sources claim eight players were affected, which is clearly a significant percentage of the tour squad, but with a few days to recover there should be enough players available by Wednesday.
There are still nerves on Barcelona’s end, not least because of their consistently precarious financial position. They don’t want to cancel multiple lucrative friendlies if they don’t have to.
From an Arsenal perspective, as long as there’s no risk of infection by the day of the game, everyone will be keen for the match to go ahead.
There are players in need of minutes against quality opposition, and local fans waiting for a rare chance to see a game in person. No one wants the match called off.
Arsenal’s Pre-Season Fixtures and Results
- Saturday, July 8th – Arsenal 1-1 Watford (Behind closed doors)
- Thursday, July 13th – FC Nurnberg 1-1 Arsenal
- Thursday, July 20th – MLS All-Stars 0-5 Arsenal
- Saturday, July 22nd – Arsenal 0-2 Manchester United
- Thursday, July 27th, 03:30 – Arsenal vs Barcelona
- Wednesday, August 2nd, 18:00 – Arsenal vs Monaco
- Sunday, August 6th, 16:00 – Arsenal vs Manchester City
Times in BST