ST ALBANS: Arsenal reopened their London Colney training ground to first team players for individual training on Monday as the Premier League club continued to observe social distancing protocols amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

France striker Alexandre Lacazette, Brazil defender David Luiz and Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka were seen arriving at the facility, which is situated 20 miles north of London.

The Arsenal players trained separately while keeping their distance from each other on the pitch.

Football in England has been suspended indefinitely and no clubs have been in training since Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus on March 12. No matches have been played since.

The Premier League is suspended until at least April 30 while lockdown measures are in place in the United Kingdom until May 7, when the government is set to review the current restrictions in place.

Clubs expect to return to full training next month. The league is looking at a potential restart in June with an eye on finishing the remaining nine rounds of fixtures in July, albeit without spectators in attendance.

All 20 teams will discuss the matter in a conference call on Friday.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2020