There has been yet another Thomas Partey injury for Arsenal after the midfielder was forced off with an injury in a pre-season friendly against Chelsea on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta Provides Update on Thomas Partey Injury
Midfielder Forced Off in Pre-Season Game
Thomas Partey limped off after a tackle by Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek during the first half of Sunday’s friendly match at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal fans had high hopes for the Ghanaian this season, so the sight of him limping off was very worrying indeed for the Gooners. They were hoping that it was not anything serious. However, it looks like Partey might miss the start of the season.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said: “I just had a talk with the doc. He’ll have a scan tomorrow. At the moment it’s not looking good.”
Partey has had a tough time with injuries ever since joining the Gunners. In fact, he missed 16 games in all competitions through injury last season. Unfortunately, things look set to continue in that trend. Amazingly, Partey hardly ever missed a match for his previous team, Atlético Madrid.
Arsenal Looking Light in Midfield
Ahead of their Premier League opener on August 13 against newly-promoted Brentford, Arsenal are looking rather light in the central midfield department. If Thomas Partey misses out, new signing Albert Sambi Lokonga could start alongside Granit Xhaka. The only other option is Mohamed Elneny.
Arteta might opt for experience and go with the Egyptian, which will not be a popular move with the fans. In fact, with Xhaka now looking set to stay at the club, it appears unlikely for Arsenal to sign a new central midfielder at this stage. Hence, a Xhaka-Elneny double-pivot midfield looks more likely.
With matches against Chelsea and Manchester City in the first three weeks of the season, that midfield is not something the Arsenal fans wanted to see.
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