SAN FRANCISCO, December 10, (THEWILL) – Mikel Arteta, manager of Premier League side Arsenal, confirmed on Wednesday that central midfielder Thomas Partey will be sidelined for the ‘next few matches’ after sustaining a fresh injury in the north London derby.
Partey, who was a transfer deadline-day addition to the Gunners’ squad had been recovering for nearly a month with a thigh problem before returning during Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Tottenham on Sunday.
Yet, the Ghanaian played just 45 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before he was replaced just before half time after picking up another, slightly different injury.
“He got injured in the same area, but not in exactly the same spot as before,” Arteta clarified. “He had an MRI yesterday, there is an injury there, he will miss the next few matches.”
Arteta waved off criticisms that it was a risk to rush Partey back from injury and throw him straight into the blood and thunder of a north London derby.
He said; “No, he did incredibly well, he was confident. We tested him three times and he had no symptoms.
“But in football you have a lot of unpredictable actions. He went into the floor, his knee got stuck, after he needs to stretch and get up. Immediately he put a lot of stress in a similar area and he felt it again.”
The 27-year-old has featured six times for the Gunners since signing from Atletico Madrid on the final day of the 2020 transfer window. Unfortunately, he has been on the losing side on four of those occasions.
His absence could not have come at a worse time with Arteta’s side languishing in 15th position with 13 points after 11 matches and a tight schedule of games ahead.
Arsenal will play five matches in the space of 12 days in the build up to Christmas, starting with Dundalk in the Europa League on Thursday and concluding with a Carabao Cup quarter -final against Manchester City on Tuesday, December 22.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
