We're only top 4 in London because West Ham have been cr@p. Palace is close enough in the table to sniff the food at the concession stands.

Any Mustafi ones left? With his recent form, I'm sure they are running low.

Hi TG,

If the virus is not brought under control quickly things could get incredibly bad. Even more so if the virus mutates into a more virulent form.

The govt needs to buy time to adequately equip its hospitals and to develop tests and hopefully treatments or vaccines, which are unlikely in the short term.

I've never known a time where quarantines were imposed in major cities like Milan over something like this which must show just how seriously the world is now taking the threat of the virus.

If cases here begin to rise exponentially then I think it is inevitable that restrictions on public gatherings will be implemented, and rightly so.

The realisation hasn’t set in yet.

The olympics in Tokyo clearly hasn’t got a chance of taking place. Also the euros ? 12 different host cities? Not on your nelly. The restrictions will come

Over emotional bollox socrates. My family are way more important to me than Arsenal. I honestly believe it’s a fuss being made that’s out of proportion to the real risk to people. That isn’t my idea by the way. It’s experts in the field I know.

God I hope Mustafi stays at Arsenal. He’s been good lately but not for that reason. Just to annoy a tosser who supports the club.

Well if it's any consolation Gaz ..... I'm starting to agree with you . I just thought your expectations of Arteta transforming us overnight a bit rich .

I don't watch our matches anymore ; the avalanche of **&&&% sideways / back passing on offer kills it as a spectacle for me .

Watched the extended highlights which doesn't portray a true picture .

Let's face it ; we have a very stupid football team , a bunch of headless chickens conjuring up results from occasional individual brilliance while the entertainment value along the way is virtually non existent .

It'll take time and some brutal decisions to form them into any sort of cohesive unit .

Has Mikel the cojones to do it ....??? The summer transfer window will reveal all .

If you read a few of AG’s posts you will go thru your supply pretty quickly.

Came across this someone sent me. Apologies for the length.

This pretty much sums up what every medical professional who is currently practicing has been saying. Please take the time to read this - slowly. I applaud Dr.Abdu Sharkawy.

From Dr Abdu Sharkawy

I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even
imagine?

I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.

But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.

#washurhands #geturflushot #respect #patiencenotpanic

Thanks for the concern from you two little fleabites . Been extending / overhauling my trailer , no time to fluff around on the Gleiber .

Thank God I got the E coli infection last year , if I had it now I'd be thinking the end is nigh .

What tickled me about the Aussie toilet paper issue ... a heavyweight bout .... everyone involved was about thirty kilos overweight including the manager trying to mediate .

Understandable if they were battling over weightwatchers or gym passes .

The last game reminded me of a lot of the games in Emery‘a unbeaten run. We were outplayed & could have easily had 3-4 goals scored against us. I thought we lacked cohesion and I just don’t see a great improvement. Plus Arteta is retreating to the experienced players who cannot be out future.

Do you think the WHO are just making it all up, Bernard, or that collective governments want a recession? We have had swine flu and SARS (which had a far higher mortality rate than flu) in the recent past and there was nothing even close to the measures now being recommended. There won't be a vaccine for about 12 months. There is no proven anti-viral treatment yet. Some elements of the media may be engaging in hyperbole, but this thing is real.

Well, I'm not sure those quarantined in China, northern Italy or other places would necessarily agree with your relaxed attitude.

The point is that if restrictions made on crowd gatherings, such as those at football matches etc, helps to delay the spread of the virus and allows more time for better healthcare preparations and provisions to be made and advances made on treatments and possible vaccines then isn't it a no-brainer?

What experts in the field do you know?

Exactly, Dec.

World stockmarkets are in freefall driven by fear of the unknown, economies are facing recessions etc. Suggestions are that Italy, which has one of the best healthcare systems in the world is unable to cope with the level of infections it is seeing, and nobody knows how many more will fall victim to the virus.

It seems to me that unless someone comes up with a treatment or vaccine pdq then this could escalate very quickly into a global pandemic, if it is not already.

I've never seen lockdowns or huge quarantined areas in major western european countries like this before, perhaps someone can enlighten me if they have.

It's not a question of overreacting, it's that nobody currently has any answers and thus people and governments have to be prepared for the worst case scenarios.

Given only two choices of governments possibly putting too much importance on the possible impact of the virus or not putting enough importance, its an easy choice.

I can’t believe you’re stupid enough to expect me to name them. But why do you think your panic stations wanting (arguably or possibly) media are any better?

No I don’t think it’s being made up. But as you imply there is hyperbole going on and the idea of the WHO overreacting seems logical to me. The idea of banning people from attending sports events, which surely has also to mean closing any mass attendant event including shopping centres, seems stupid to me.

If you want to shut yourself off to the rest of the human race then go ahead. I’ll support your right to do it. But don’t ban me from attending Arsenal games. It has to be personal choice, informed by stats that should be commonly available.

Zed has proved over many years to be one of the forum’s best (if rarer than ideal), most rational and intelligent posters. Try reading the post number 518810.

Zed's post was interesting but here are the issues in my opinion:
The virus can last up to 48 hours outside the body
it can be transmitted by touch or transference person to person
it has already mutated into 2 types
It spreads extremely effectively
People do not display symptoms for significant periods, indeed there are now cases where people have it but don't have symptoms - BUT they can transfer it to others
There are no classic symptoms - they can vary
People are not immune after they have caught it - we have already had an Australian woman who has got it twice
Of the people who catch it somewhere above 3% are likely to die - many have pre-existing respiratory problems but diabeties patients have problems but not all of them- children seem to be okay but no guarantees
WHO have decided it is best to try and control the spread of it
vaccines maybe 12-18 months away if at all
Restricting mass meetings and events will likely help - look at this way. A person showing no signs attends a football match. He uses the toilet and he uses railings to get to his seat. Capacity to spread it looks reasonably high to me plus 8 people around him might have direct contact.
Last year 9800 died worldwide from the flu -currently death toll around 3800 for COVID 19 but it has just started
Health systems will be overwhelmed if it comes into your area
In summary I am not convinced that it is wrong of governments to try and tackle this immediately and restrict peoples movements.
And yes there will be a worldwide economic disaster but it will be worse if it ends up spreading to say 50% of the population or even 20%.

There are a number of counters on the internet but this is the one I looked at when trying to determine what we should do with our trip
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps ... 7b48e9ecf6

We would have been a much better club had Ramsey stayed.

Some of the rhetoric is a decent sensible heartfelt message however to say....

The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives.

... is absurd. 133 people died in a single day yesterday in Italy.

To ask people to stop buying up toilet rolls is one thing but to ignore the dangers of this thing is idiotic . The social distancing restrictions will come like they have elsewhere and you’ll have to lump it.

Now that it has reached India, I expect contagion to skyrocket. Massive overcrowding, poor sanitation and personal hygiene, with a large expat population flying in and out. The global economic impacts are going to make it worse.

Precisely. And the global north, even with their (relatively) excellent healthcare systems, have large elderly populations. Apart form the much higher deathrate, if you are 80 and you get infected and get double pneumonia, you may recover. But it will be a huge strain on resources (and we know how strained resources already are) and will you recover fully I wonder?

Imagine it was wartime and the likes of Bernard said "I've spoken to someone in the ministry and he reckons the Germans aren't going to bomb us and even if they do the risk of me being killed is only 1%. So bugger switching my lights off".

Wow, I didn't see that. Terrifying.

FTSE opens down 9%, one of the biggest stock market drops in recent memory - and a bigger fall than 9/11

... another silly Over reaction.

And the NYSE is expected to open more than 5% down. I bet Trump didn't get any sleep last night. Reality can be fend off but not forever!

As long as city away isn’t cancelled though that’s what’s important.

perhaps City away can be quarantined until we have figured out a plan?

Don’t be ridiculous!, 3% of the 60 thousand fans dying is an acceptable loss if we can nick a point.

I meant a plan to fix our defence ... something a bit better than faith in Jesus and Leno.

Seriously, I think we could be in for a hiding.

Pep will not want to lose to make a point to Mikel. Should be an interesting game. Bring on the restrictions I say.

Announce the season null and void.

That is what they get paid for!
I will enjoy our good run while it lasts. Otherwise, what is the point of being a supporter?

Well done for finally saying something sensible on the issue.

Do people want shopping centres closed? If so, you better stock up on enough tinned food to last for the next twelve to eighteen months, if that’s how long it’ll take to develop a vaccine,

Shopping centres providing a essential items. Course not.

Relaxation and leisure activities to temporarily stop the spread whilst vaccines are developed? of course.

So stopping relaxation and leisure activities won’t stop it’s spread. So I see it as pointless and worthless doing it. You disagree, that’s fine?

Are you already cutting down coming into contact with people?

Then that’s a selfish attitude. It’s about trying to contain it buying valuable time for healthcare to prepare for the inevitable, vaccines to be created so Emergency resources aren’t over whelmed.

Do you think they are over reacting in Italy then and they should accept the inevitable and horrendous losses that will occur ? Shouldn’t an attempt by made to help people fight for their lives?

On cutting contact with people I haven’t so far but I expect to. My work is mandating only business critical travel will be approved. They had floated the idea of issuing a statement saying “This thing is a whole big over reaction folks” but decided against it.