Arsenal take on Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby in their fourth Premier League game of the season.
The Gunners dropped points in their last fixture before the international break – a controversial 1-1 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta will be desperate to get back to winning ways, but unfortunately for him, as many as seven Arsenal players could be ruled out for the Tottenham game.
However, there is one player who will be available and he could make some personal history – Thomas Partey.
Thomas Partey could do something at Arsenal for the first time ever
Partey has entered his fifth season as an Arsenal player.
The Ghana international joined the Gunners from Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day in 2020, and everyone expected Partey to take Arsenal to the next level.
However, injuries have really troubled the midfielder over the years. Partey has missed a total of 80 games for club and country since he moved to the Emirates.
That is a shocking record, but the Ghanaian is fully fit now, and he could do something at Arsenal that he hasn’t been able to do in any of his previous four seasons.
Partey has started and played the full 90 minutes in each of Arsenal’s first three games of the 2024/25 season.
He has never played in the first four games of Arsenal’s Premier League campaign before – he hasn’t even made the squad.
That, in all likelihood, will change at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
Partey could suddenly become Arsenal’s most important player vs Tottenham
Arsenal have a lot of issues with respect to player availability going into the North London Derby.
The Gunners will definitely be without Declan Rice, who is suspended, and Mikel Merino, who is out injured until October.
Martin Odegaard could also be ruled out of the Tottenham game due to a nasty ankle injury he suffered while playing for Norway against Austria on Monday night.
Partey will have a lot of added responsibility on his shoulders in the middle of the park against Spurs, and he will have to be at his absolute best.
If the Ghanaian has a good game, we are convinced Arsenal will come away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a positive result on Sunday.
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