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No Partey again! Arsenal & Ghana star misses UCL clash against Sevilla through injury

Kweku Zurek Sports News Oct - 25 - 2023 , 07:35

                                                                           

Arsenal Football Club has disclosed that a muscle injury prevented Thomas Partey from participating in their 2-1 victory over Sevilla in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

       The Ghanaian international has grappled with a series of injuries since joining the Emirates outfit. Partey had recently recovered from a groin injury before the international break, featuring in both friendlies for his national team against Mexico and the United States. However, he was named on the bench for Arsenal's 2-2 draw against Chelsea over the weekend.

       Surprisingly, Partey was omitted entirely from Arsenal's matchday squad for the fixture in Spain. The club issued a statement clarifying the reason behind his absence, stating: "Thomas Partey misses out on tonight's game with a muscle issue."

Despite being spotted in team training on Monday, indicating he was fit for play, it seems Partey encountered a setback prior to Arsenal's encounter with Sevilla.

This development will undoubtedly pose a challenge for Mikel Arteta, who has faced difficulties in rotating his midfield trio this season, primarily due to Partey's recurring injury concerns. Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice have featured in every match for Arsenal this season, while Arteta has alternated between Kai Havertz and Jorginho as the third midfielder.

   Arteta currently faces limited options to provide cover for Rice in the event of an injury to the English international. Partey's recent setback further disrupts Arteta's initial plans from the summer, where he aimed to establish a formidable midfield partnership.

"They can play together and that was in my plans," Arteta affirmed. "You want to improve the squad and have more quality. We need players who can play together but we need players in the same position who can fight for their places. It's something we haven't had over the last few years and we wanted to improve that, and that's why we bought Declan."

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