Reports in England claim Arsenal have suffered another blow with Ben White ruled OUT of their clash against Chelsea.

The £50m defender is understood to be ‘unwell’ and will not be in the Gunners squad at the Emirates.

It comes amid a huge Covid outbreak at the North London club, with at least FOUR first-team squad members being struck down.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette both missed out in their opening day defeat at Brentford.

Willian also tested positive for the virus, amid a disastrous start to the season for Mikel Arteta.

White was expected to start against the Blues today, according to The Athletic.

The 23-year-old was set to face off against Romelu Lukaku, who rejoined Chelsea for £100m.

But Arteta is without one of his key players, in what has been a turbulent few weeks for his side.

The England centre-back played the full 90-minutes of their 2-0 loss at the Bees last Friday.

Chelsea are still drawing up transfer plans late on in the summer transfer window, with further incomings and outgoings expected at Stamford Bridge.

According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, via Inside Futbol, Chelsea have made an offer to sign Barcelona wonderkid Ilaix Moriba amid doubts over his future at the Nou Camp.

Moriba, 18, recently turned down a new contract at Barca, who are threatening to sideline him for a season if he doesn’t accept their terms.

It is believed the Catalans would be prepared to sell him this summer for a fee of around £17million.

Moriba has emerged as one of the top youngsters in the club. Looking at his performance in the 2020-21 season, Moriba played in 14 games (started 4), while contributing 1 goal and 2 assists.

In July, Barcelona Joan Laporta unequivocally said: “Either he renews or he will not take another step at the Camp Nou.

“We will try not to repeat this issue again at the club. He has one year left and does not want to renew. It is a situation we do not accept. We must act. He’s a great player and if he doesn’t renew he already knows he has other solutions.

“We don’t want Barcelona-bred players doing that anymore, we don’t want players who refuse to renew a year before their contracts expire.

“He had opportunities in the first team, but the club is above all and cannot give us that kind of impression, and I would like him to reconsider.

“I’m sorry Alex doesn’t realize what we’ve done for him. We will not accept his release for free. Whoever wants to leave is free, but under certain conditions.”

A football match was abandoned after the referee pulled as angry fans called him a “son of a b***h” in Honduras.

The unnamed match official is claimed to armed himself with a pistol after a controversial decision of a penalty sparked fury during a match in La Jigua, Honduras.

Local reports said the ref brandished the handgun to protect himself from angry supporters at the end of the amateur clash.

Video shows fans surging across the pitch as the referee strolls around the centre circle with a large pistol in his hand.

Fans can be heard shouting and screaming – and what appears to be gunshots are heard in the first few moments of the video.

The referee appears to fire a few shots into the ground in an effort to disperse the crowd who start to scatter.

A relative, according to The Sun, is said to have handed him the weapon at the end of the match as he feared he was going to get beaten up by the fans.

One supporter was overheard insulting the ref by calling him a “son of a b***h” – although he appeared to make a wise decision by staying in the stands.

The match official has not been identified and it is not yet clear if he will face any disciplinary action over his radical decision.

Arsenal are struggling to sell tickets for their first home game of the season against Chelsea.

The London derby is usually one of Arsenal’s most anticipated matches of the season but there is a lack of enthusiasm amongst fans on this occasion.

The Gunners opened their campaign with a dismal performance in a 2-0 loss to Premier League newcomers Brentford last week.

And it seems apathy has set in amongst the fanbase, with large sections of the stadium still yet to be sold for Sunday’s clash, per Arsenal’s ticket website.

It is possible many fans are expecting a loss to European champions Chelsea, despite Arsenal securing a league double over the Blues last season.

Chelsea will remember comedian and season ticket holder Sean Lock with a minute’s applause at their next home game after he died aged 58.

The stand-up star, whose fame spread via TV shows QI and 8 Out of 10 Cats, passed away from cancer last Wednesday.

The Blues have agreed to commemorate his death before their Premier League match with Aston Villa on September 11.

The idea was proposed by fellow British comic Omid Djalili, who tweeted to ask Chelsea if a tribute was possible.