Arteta defends North London derby postponement
Mikel Arteta hit back at Arsenal's critics following the postponement of Monday's (AEDT) north London derby as he insisted "we did the right thing."
The Gunners were due to make the short trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a showdown with their fierce rivals, but the game was called off due to a lack of players available to Arteta.
Arsenal was accused of exploiting the Premier League's rules, with the majority of players absent due to injury, suspension or Africa Cup of Nations duty.
The club only one confirmed positive COVID-19 case at the time of lodging an application to get the derby called off, but the Premier League deemed it was unable to meet the required number of available players – 13 outfielders and a goalkeeper – despite their Under-23s having a squad of 16 for a game on Saturday.
Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte felt the decision to postpone the match was "very, very strange."
Arsenal manager Arteta hit back on the eve of Friday's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at home to Liverpool, which he expects to go ahead despite "issues that have not been resolved" in his squad.
Asked what he thought about people saying Arsenal could have played the game, the Spaniard said: "We played against Forest [in the FA Cup] when we had 10 players out and we went to Liverpool and we had many players out.
"We have done that and we have played with academy players when we already have the youngest squad in the league.
"Tomorrow if we have everybody available as I suspect we will play the match because we want to play football."
He said: "I think more than hate [being directed towards Arsenal] there is a lot of respect for Arsenal and that comes from the history of the club, how it's always acted and how it has always conducted itself.
"We know we did the right thing. We worked with the Premier League and the FA to make that decision. If anything we've been very honest at least."
Arteta stressed that it was "100 per cent guaranteed" that Arsenal did not have enough players to face Spurs.
Asked if the criticism of the club could be used as a fuel to drive his team, Arteta said: "We will defend our club tooth and nail. We're not going to get anybody damaging our name or trying to spread lies."
Arteta revealed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is back in London and has undergone tests after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations for medical reasons without playing a game.
The Gabon striker had tested positive for COVID-19 on January 6 and was subsequently diagnosed with "heart lesions".
Arteta said: "He's in London and going through some examinations because we haven't had any clarity from Gabon about why he came back.
"So it's our obligation to make sure he's safe and in good condition. So far historically with what we've done with the player that's never been an issue."
Aubameyang has not featured for Arsenal since December 6, having been stripped of the captaincy due to a breach of club rules.
Arsenal and Liverpool played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their Carabao Cup tie at Anfield, with Granit Xhaka seeing red in the first half.
