With the Gunners pushing hard to sign a new midfielder in the remaining hours of the transfer window – bidding twice for Brighton ace Moises Caicedo – fans may fear the worst when it comes to their own options.
After all, Mohamed Elneny is currently having his own fitness struggles and Partey had to come off at halftime with a rib injury against Manchester City last week in the FA Cup.
However, it seems as though the club may simply be pushing for a new midfielder to provide depth in their title race regardless of the Ghanaian’s status.
Indeed, while speaking on his YouTube channel, Watts said the Partey injury isn’t serious and that he could even be fit enough to play against Everton.
He explained (1:51): “I’ve heard pretty good news when it comes to Thomas Partey. As far as I’m aware, he is okay. The scan results did not pick up anything serious.
“And he is hopeful that he will be able to play against Everton. Obviously, I can’t confirm 100 per cent that he will be playing at Goodison Park, but he is hopeful that he will be fit to feature and that he will be okay to train, to start training as normal ahead of that match on Saturday.
He added (3:50): “Fingers crossed Thomas will be fine for that trip to Everton. Which will be a massive massive boost to Arsenal
because they need him fit .they need him available.”
Is Thomas Partey Arsenal’s most important player?
No
Yes
Huge boost
Seeing as Arsenal are struggling to convince Brighton to sell Caicedo despite lodging multiple big bids – with the Seagulls steadfast in their position – it’s great news that Mikel Arteta might not need a new midfielder immediately.
Even so, this injury scare to Partey does prove just how short of options the club are right now. Granit Xhaka obviously plays in the middle of the park too, but with Elneny unfit the only other natural alternative is Albert Sambi Lokonga.
The Belgian isn’t a exactly perfect alternative for Partey in that deep midfielder role and against Man City captain Martin Odergaard even berated him for his poor positioning.
Thankfully, Partey looks to be fit for the time being but as Watts says, there’s no guarantee that he will be ready to play against Everton and so the Gunners may still be desperate to get a new signing in through the door this month. It certainly feels as though they are going to try.
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