£45m Arsenal player may not play another game until February

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Amid all of the disappointment in the last few weeks for Arsenal, Thomas Partey’s injury set-back has gone slightly under the radar.

It is now being reported that Thomas Partey may now not be fit until January at the earliest given his latest muscle injury.

And bearing in mind that Partey will travel to the AFCON in early January, he may now not appear for Mikel Arteta until February.

The AFCON group stages are set to take place between 14th-22nd of January, meaning Partey will be missing until then even if Ghana bow out at the first step.

Arsenal do have a FA Cup third round tie to be scheduled in early January, but it would be surprising if Partey was risked in such a tie.

To make the injury situation even more frustrating for Arsenal fans, they may miss their £45m midfielder throughout the whole of the festive period and then watch him return for every game of the AFCON.

And on that note, some Arsenal fans may now suggest that its time for Arsenal to seek an alternative.

Jorginho is ticking Arsenal over in midfield, but it’s clearly an area of the team Arteta can improve given how often Partey is missing due to injury.

Arsenal may need to buy in January after another Thomas Partey injury

Douglas Luiz is bound to be a name that is mentioned amid this disappointment.

The Aston Villa midfielder is in remarkable form this season and could prove a considerable upgrade for Arsenal.

Not only because of his ability, but also his consistent availability over recent seasons.

The problem with that deal will be the incredibly high asking price Villa will probably hold after Luiz signed a new deal last year.

Unai Emery’s team are flying this season, and losing Luiz would be a huge disruption to their project.

It’s becoming very clear that Arsenal do have a lot of work to do in January if they are to keep improving.

And although a striker like Ivan Toney does look like an incredibly important addition, a Partey replacement may prove the priority.

Arsenal’s last few seasons have been undone by injury, and it may be time for Arteta to move on from Partey.