‘Big concern’: Arteta drops injury update on £200k-a-week Arsenal star before West Ham

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has now provided an update on the fitness of Thomas Partey. 

Thomas Partey has not featured for Arsenal since the win over Manchester City and is now struggling with a hamstring injury. 

This is far from the first time that Partey has had to endure a spell on the sidelines in his Arsenal career. The 30-year-old’s fitness issues are a recurrent and serious concern. Mikel Arteta should now be seriously considering moving Partey on from the Emirates Stadium, and replacing him with a player who can be relied upon to be available.

In any case, until the upcoming January transfer window at least, Partey will remain a part of this Arsenal squad. It would, of course, be a huge boost if the Ghanaian is able to play plenty of football during this period, but as things stand it is hard to say when he will next be available for the Gunners.

Arteta has not put an exact timescale on when Partey might return to action. The Spanish coach said, “he is a big concern because when Thomas is fit and available and he’s been part of the team, we have seen what the results and the impact that he has…I think that he will be out for weeks, I don’t know how long but he’s got another appointment today and we will see more after that,” as quoted by ESPN.

Thomas Partey in unsustainable situation

The £200,000-a-week midfielder is still one of the best players Arsenal have. At his best, he can be an imperious presence in the middle of the park, but the current state of affairs with his seemingly-constant injury setbacks is unsustainable. 

In Declan Rice, Jorginho, and Mohamed Elneny, Arteta has alternative options to turn to in Partey’s absence, but going forward, the Gunners need more youth and depth in this part of the pitch. As things stand, only Rice represents the future of Arsenal in the middle of the park. 

In the meantime, Arteta will be hopeful that Partey’s assessment today yields positive results and that the player can feature regularly for the club again sooner rather than later.