The POST: Arsenal applied for an extension and Spurs were furious

Live Bar January 15 News Today, Arsenal officially announced that they have applied to postpone the match against Tottenham Hotspur. According to the Daily Mail, Spurs expressed outrage over Arsenal's request.

A final decision on whether the game will be played is expected to be made on Saturday. Arsenal filed an application on Friday night local time asking for a postponement of Sunday's North London derby — sparking Spurs outrage in the process. The Gunners have submitted an application to cancel Sunday's game against Tottenham hotspur due to a large number of players who are unable to play due to coronavirus, injuries, suspensions and international matchday missions.

The Premier League will meet on Saturday morning local time to decide whether the match will go as planned. The rules stipulate that as long as the club has 13 players and a goalkeeper available, if they are first-team members or "under-21 players with appropriate experience", then the team must play.

Arsenal were unable to play with a number of players, including several in the Africa Cup of Nations: Thomas, Aubameyang, Ernenni and Pepe. Notably, Leicester City had asked earlier this month to postpone their match against Everton, one of the reasons being that the players needed to play in the Africa Cup of Nations. The news of Arsenal's request to postpone the game sparked anger at Tottenham, who feared their nemesis had used the rules to cancel the match simply because Arsenal's best players were absent from the team.

Spurs were very surprised that Arsenal took this step, especially considering that manager Arteta had said earlier in the day that he wanted the game to continue. Tottenham believe that national team call-ups, player injuries and suspensions are part of football.

Arsenal currently have only one COVID-19 positive case – Erdegaard, with Xhaka to be suspended after being sent off with a red card in Thursday's match against Liverpool. However, Chambers, Cedric, Tierney, Jianyang Fuan, Smith-Roy and Sakha were all injured, and the issue raised suspicions at Tottenham.

In addition, Tottenham hotters have also noted that Arsenal have also left Niles and Barogon on loan in recent days, while Arsenal's U23 players will be included in the squad for this game if the game is not postponed.

If the game goes ahead normally, Arsenal will challenge Tottenham Hotspur away at 00:30 Beijing time on January 17.

(Bear & Raspberry)