City
Epaper

Mikel Arteta opens up about his coronavirus recovery

By IANS | Published: March 27, 2020 11:59 AM

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who has "completely recovered" from COVID-19, believes people should be "emotionally more open" after the coronavirus pandemic.

Open in App

London, March 27 Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who has "completely recovered" from COVID-19, believes people should be "emotionally more open" after the coronavirus pandemic.

Arteta, 38, tested positive for the virus on March 12 but has since recovered after self-isolating.

"We are in a world here where everything is social media, everything is a WhatsApp text," Arteta was quoted as saying by BBC Sports.

"But how important is touching each other, feeling each other and hugging each other?

"I miss that with a lot of the people I love.

"We have to be emotionally more open. We have to tell each other what we are feeling," he added.

"We cannot just in two or three months' time - if we are able to get over this quickly - forget about this, because it's so important."

He reported feeling unwell after it was confirmed Evangelos Marinakis the owner of Greek side Olympiakos, who played Arsenal in the Europa League in February had coronavirus on March 10.

Arteta said his main concern was his three children after his wife and their nanny contracted the virus.

"In terms of symptoms, it was a normal virus for me. I had three or four days which were a little bit difficult, with a bit of a temperature and a dry cough, and some discomfort in my chest. That was it. The difficulty is that I have people at home, three kids as well and I was worried. My missus has been through it and our nanny's been through it.

"I am feeling completely recovered (now)...," he told the club website.

"We are living in a unique situation, so I think all of us are trying to react to the situation that is coming on a daily basis and trying our best to overcome the situation.

The Spaniard urged people across the world to stay indoors and follow the guidelines put in place by the authorities in order to slow down the process of virus transmission.

"...And please to everybody, we are a little bit behind other countries, for example Spain, where I know the situation they are living at the moment, and while we are having the opportunity a little bit to minimise the risk, I encourage everybody please to be responsible and stay at home as much as possible. That is all we can do from our position, we don't have the ability to help others in other circumstances, so please at least stay at home and do what is required."

"We have to slow the process down and the virus down, so please stay at home," he added.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: BBC Sports Team of the Year AwardLondonSpainArsenalMikel ArtetaPremier of sa
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalLondon Stabbing: 13-Year-Old Boy Killed, Four Injured in Sword Attack Near Tube Station

InternationalLondon Stabbing: Several Stabbed, Including Two Police Officers Near Hainault Tube Station; Scary Video of Man With Sword Goes Viral

InternationalLondon: Overseas Friends of Bjp UK Organises Spectacular ‘Run for Modi’ Event

InternationalLondon: Five Injured After Blood-Soaked Royal Horses Escape, Collide with Cars; Videos Go Viral

Other SportsMadrid Spain Masters 2024: B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy Bow Out in Quarterfinals

फुटबॉल Realted Stories

FootballU20 National Football C'ship: Kerala beat Haryana 2-0 to reach QFs

Football"Worst defeat": Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag reacts to "disappointing" result against Crystal Palace

FootballIndia head coach Igor Stimac reveals second list of 15 probables for Bhubaneswar camp ahead of FIFA WC 26 qualifiers

FootballSouth United Football Club Blue Cubs League: Diego Juniors FCA, 4 Lions FA, Battleground FA emerge victorious

FootballRFDL promotes opportunities, thought process that is very vital for Indian football: Subrata Pal