Prior to their matchup with Brentford on Saturday, Thomas Partey’s return from injury may have given Arsenal a major lift. Since his arrival, the Ghanaian midfielder has played a significant role in Mikel Arteta’s midfield, although his reservations about his fitness have presented challenges.
The 29-year-old has missed 36 of the Gunners’ competitive games since joining in 2020, underscoring how problematic his absence is. The contributions of Mohamed Elneny helped fill the vacuum left by an injury that was tough to handle toward the conclusion of last season during the pivotal run-in.
However, when asked to step in for Partey this season, the Egyptian also sustained an injury that will keep him out for a considerable amount of time. The Egyptian went on to win a contract extension at the club. It gave Arteta very little time in the transfer window to bring in a fresh face for the midfield.
Aston Villa refused to let the Brazilian depart so late in the window, therefore the Spaniard’s attempt to sign Douglas Luiz from the Villains failed. Arteta responded, “The club has done a wonderful job and put everything on the table to try to bring the players and the profiles we needed, when questioned about the last-ditch effort.
We conducted business rather quickly, but regrettably, in the previous 72 hours, Thomas Partey sustained an injury in the same location as his last injury, and Mo [Mohamed Elneny] suffered a long-term injury, forcing us to react in the market. We made an effort, but ultimately we had to bring the player we believed would be best for the team and the club, and we weren’t successful in doing that.
In the absence of the pair, the manager has attempted to deploy Sambi Lokonga in the position; thus far, he has done so with varying degrees of success as he learns the craft, but he may soon have competition for that spot once again in a significant boost to the squad heading into the weekend.
The reason for this is that Partey could try to make a comeback before the international break, where he could be involved for Ghana after receiving a call-up for some friendly matches, according to CBS Sports’ James Benge, who reports that the midfielder is back in full training ahead of the match against Brentford on Saturday.
However, the Gunners might be reluctant to give him an immediate start since they would prefer avoid dealing with the very real risk of another extended absence.
