Arsenal's psychologist has been in constant communication with the Premier League club's players to offer any help they may need during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club's manager Mikel Arteta has said.

Football in England has been suspended since March 13 because of the virus that has infected more than 2.23 million people globally and led to  more than 159,000 deaths, according to the latest Johns Hopkins University data.

Arsenal's players have been self-isolating since March 12 when Arteta tested positive for the virus — before the lockdown in Britain — and the Spaniard said that all efforts were being made to ensure the players were in good spirits.

"We have our psychologist that is looking after the players and is always in constant communication with them," Arteta told the club's website.

"But as well we're having feedback from different people and we're constantly sending information and videos and keeping them busy... keeping them close to their job and the people that are related to their job, which is us and my coaching staff."

Arteta, who took over as manager in December after compatriot Unai Emery was sacked, said he was using the lockdown to understand his players better.

"We've been having some really good conversations," the former Manchester City assistant added.

"This time has been really helpful from my side, at least, to get to know the players better ... we're trying to improve our relationship, the communication and understanding between us."

Arsenal are ninth in the league with 40 points from 28 matches.

Between the first three months of this year, 299 players contacted the Professional Footballers Association (PFA), the trade union for footballers in England and Wales, for support compared to 653 in the whole of 2019. Michael Bennett, the union's director of player welfare, said he is worried about their welfare during the COVID-19 shutdown.

"I'm concerned about players emotionally and mentally," Bennett said. "We made sure players were aware they could access support via our benevolent funds if they had any kind of financial hardship."

"In the first week or so we even had a number of players calling up because they'd been caught up in the panic buying, overspent money they didn't really have and then had to struggle through," he said, adding that the body had also sent out a questionnaire to players asking about their mental health, how they've been coping and whether they want or need support.

"We're getting a trickle of responses, so we'll continue to monitor the data and put in any additional support as and when it's needed," he said.

(With input from Reuters)