An Arsenal corner flag bearing the team logo during the Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium. Press Association

Arsenal cancel preseason USA tour due to COVID-19 cases

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jul 20, 2021 3:36 PM ET

Premier League club Arsenal won't be spending some time in the United States this summer, after all.

David Ornstein and James McNicholas of The Athletic reported Tuesday that Arsenal have canceled their USA tour due to "a small number" of positive COVID-19 cases within members of their traveling party. The Athletic didn't say if any first-team players tested positive, but Ornstein tweeted all of the impacted individuals are asymptomatic.

Arsenal were scheduled to head to Orlando for the Florida Cup and face Inter Milan on July 25. The winner of that match would've played against the winners of Everton and Millonarios in the Florida Cup final on July 28.

The Athletic adds Everton are still expected to travel to Florida as of Tuesday afternoon ET.

The Athletic's Philip Buckingham noted last week the Premier League and English Football League "are in no position to force" players to get vaccinated against their wishes.

Arsenal open the 2021-22 Premier League season versus Brentford on Aug. 13. The Gunners ended the 2020-21 campaign eighth in the league table.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

More must-reads: