Arsenal hold minute's silence for Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel
Arsenal players and staff gathered in a circle at the club's training ground on Tuesday morning to observe a period of silence following the death of Jesus de Miguel, the 30 year old Tenerife striker who died from injuries sustained in a Spanish second division match.
De Miguel suffered serious injuries to his head and chest after colliding with goalkeeper Jesus Owono during Tenerife's match against FC Andorra on Monday. He was treated on the pitch for more than five minutes before being taken to hospital by ambulance. His condition was described as stable despite the severity of his injuries on Monday, but he died on Tuesday morning after his condition deteriorated overnight.
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Arsenal's players and coaching staff stood together at the start of their training session, facing a big screen showing a picture of De Miguel, as reported by the Evening Standard.
Tributes pour in across football
The tragedy has prompted tributes from across the sport, including from Kylian Mbappe and Gerard Pique, who co-owns Andorra, the club De Miguel's Tenerife side were facing when the collision occurred.
The Spanish Football Federation has postponed all matches that were scheduled for Tuesday, and UEFA has announced that a period of silence will be observed before every European game played this week. That will include fixtures involving Spanish clubs Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Villarreal.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said: “We are heartbroken by the death of Jesus de Miguel Alameda. We have searched for words and found only silence.”
Tenerife released a statement confirming the news of their player's death, saying: “Racked with pain, with a lump in our throats and unable to believe that this is true, from CD Tenerife we communicate the tragic passing of Jesus de Miguel Alameda. There are no words of comfort; there is absolutely nothing that can alleviate this feeling overflowing with sadness.”
A wider football family in mourning
The scenes at Arsenal's training ground reflect how far the shock of De Miguel's death has travelled, reaching well beyond Spanish football and into dressing rooms and training grounds across Europe.
As clubs and competitions continue to pay their respects this week, the focus across the game will remain on De Miguel's family, teammates and the wider Tenerife community as they come to terms with his loss.
