ARTETA HAS SOME UNFORTUNATE NEWS FOR ARSENAL FANS ABOUT £45M PLAYER- ‘SIGNIFICANT INJURY’.
Mikel Arteta has revealed that it’s very unlikely that Thomas Partey will kick a ball for Arsenal again this season, due to his ‘significant injury’.
The Ghana international has been out of action since the 3-0 defeat by Crystal Palace earlier this month.
Charles Watts, who covers Arsenal for Goal.com, revealed this week that he has had conversations with people close to the former Atletico Madrid midfielder, who cost £45 million in 2020.
And Watt claimed that it wasn’t impossible for the 28-year-old to recover before the end of the current campaign.
However, Arteta has told Football London this afternoon that Partey is almost certainly out for the season.
He said: “He’s progressing but he had a significant injury, a recurring injury as well, so we don’t expect him to make progress that quickly to see him this season, but hopefully I am wrong.”
The bad news is that despite Watts’s glimmer of hope in midweek, it looks very unlikely that Partey will be available for selection before next season.
The good news is that Mohamed Elneny has been an absolute hero for Arsenal over the past couple of games, with Ian Wright urging the club to extend his contract.
The Gunners go into Sunday’s trip to West Ham on the back of victories against Chelsea and Manchester United over the past nine days – and the Egypt international was simply exceptional in both.
Midfield is a massive position and anything less than stellar performances from Elneny might’ve resulted in defeats for Arteta’s side but, with the former Basel star playing like he is, it should minimise the effect of losing Partey until next term.
Whether Elneny can maintain this form over the next five Premier League games, however, remains to be seen.
In some ways, impressing against Chelsea and Manchester United is easier because there was no pressure or expectation on Elneny, but now there is and West Ham away will certainly represent another, albeit different, challenge for the 29-year-old.
