Tottenham v Arsenal: Gunners request postponement of north London derby

Bukayo Saka was one of three Arsenal players to pick up an injury against Liverpool on Thursday

Arsenal have requested the postponement of Sunday's north London derby with Tottenham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium because of a lack of available players.

The Premier League board will consider Arsenal's request on Saturday.

The have been 20 Premier League games postponed this season because of Covid.

Earlier on Friday it was announced that Burnley's home game against Leicester City on Saturday has been postponed because of Covid-19 cases and injuries within the Turf Moor side's camp.

Premier League rules say a club must play a game if they have 13 outfield players and one goalkeeper available.

Cedric Soares, Bukayo Saka and Calum Chambers all picked up injuries in Arsenal's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg draw against Liverpool on Thursday, while Granit Xhaka is suspended after he was sent off in the first half at Anfield.

Mikel Arteta's side were already without Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe, who are on international duty in Africa, while Martin Odegaard missed the Liverpool game through illness.

Speaking at a news conference earlier on Friday, Gunners boss Arteta said he was unsure whether Sunday's match would go ahead.

"I don't know, it's difficult to say that with total honesty without assessing our players," said the Spaniard when asked whether he wanted the game postponed.

"What is today very unlikely, tomorrow is likely to happen. It's gone the other way for us when we were ready to play a match and it was cancelled twice because the other team had issues so it can go both ways. But our intention is always to play."

More to follow.

• Our coverage of the Gunners is bigger and better than ever before - here's everything you need to know to make sure you never miss a moment
• Everything Arsenal - go straight to all the best content