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Arsenal are hoping Kieran Tierney can end isolation early to take on Manchester City football

Mikel Arteta is confident Kieran Tierney will face Manchester City on Saturday despite the defender being in self-isolation following a Covid-19 scare in the Scottish squad.

Tierney was ordered to quarantine himself for 14 days last Tuesday after his teammate Stuart Armstrong tested positive for coronavirus during routine Uefa tests on the international service in Glasgow. Arsenal and Tierney expressed frustration with the decision, stressing that he was socially far removed from Armstrong, despite being identified as a close contact, and that intensive efforts will continue to be made to ensure that he is eligible for selection at Etihad.

Arsenal club doctor Gary O’Driscoll has interviews with the Lothian Health Protection Team, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Football Association, with the Lothian team having the final say. Tierney returned negative tests before and after imposing self-isolation and Arsenal believe there would be no risk in getting him safely back to London in view of his participation against City.

“I hope so,” Arteta said when asked if Tierney would be available. “It becomes very complicated when we send players abroad and they obviously lose control. Some authorities have different rules than the Premier League. We are still having a few more talks with the authorities and hope that we know more this afternoon. “

It is possible that there will be no clarity by Friday. Arsenal have indicated that Tierney would be retested for Covid-19 if allowed to return to his training ground.

One player who is sure not to make it is Mesut Özil, who was banned from Arsenal’s Europa League squad last week and could suffer a similar fate if his group of 25 is finalized for Premier League games next Tuesday . Arteta said it was difficult to remove Özil, who turned 32 on Thursday, and Sokratis Papastathopoulos from his selection.

“It’s a very difficult decision for me because it’s very difficult to get players out of the squad at this level where they know they can’t interfere,” he said. “I don’t like it at all, but the decision had to be made because we have a surplus of foreign players. Unfortunately we had to make that decision. “

William Saliba was another absentee from the Europa League squad but Arteta said he didn’t expect the 19-year-old defender to be loaned out before the Friday deadline.

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