Several Arsenal players abandon traditional pre-match handshake against Portsmouth amid coronavirus fears

Ahead of kick-off, players such as Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Emiliano Martinez instead fist-bumped Kenny Jackett’s side – as well as the mascots – rather than having any hand contact.

Midfielder Joe Willock also changed to copy his team-mates, after starting off by shaking hands.

The Blues exited the competition in the fifth round after suffering a 2-0 defeat to the Premier League Gunners.

Sokratis bagged in first-half stoppage-time before Eddie Nketiah doubled the lead on 51 minutes.

The Football League have they are in talks with the government and keeping clubs up to speed over concerns surrounding coronavirus.