Thomas Partey has been plagued by injuries since his arrival from Atletico Madrid in 2020, which has been a major concern for Mikel Arteta and everyone associated with Arsenal. It was reported in the summer that Saudi Pro League clubs, Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Al Khaleej, were interested in signing Partey for a big-money move, and Arsenal are interested in letting him go, but the move never came to fruition and with the departure of Granit Xhaka and the big-money acquisition of Declan Rice, Arsenal seemed content with retaining Partey’s services, alongside Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny as its central midfield contingent for the campaign.
Surprisingly, Partey commenced this season as an inverted right back, which was clearly a failed experiment in my honest opinion and sadly, the Ghanaian midfielder was ruled out for six weeks, which saw Arteta revert to his normal formation that did wonders for him last season. Arsenal were very cautious with Partey’s return, giving him 10 minutes in the slender win over Manchester City, but Partey played for Ghana in the last international break, only to suffer another injury in training ahead of the away game to Sevilla last month.
When Arteta was asked about his fitness, the Arsenal boss stated that he would be ‘out for weeks’, which was not good to hear, but our fears have been worsened after the Mirror reported that Partey has undergone a surgical specialist procedure to mitigate a thigh injury and he would be out till 2024. This news would also serve as a blow to Chris Hughton and the Ghana FA, as they would be hoping that their captain will be fit for the African Cup of Nations which is scheduled to start in January 2024.
With Elneny also leaving in January to join up with his Egyptian teammates, Arsenal would have only Rice and Jorginho as its defensive midfielders, with the likes of Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe (if fit), as the left eights. Rice is a player that has been exceptionally fit from his days at West Ham, but there’s something about Arsenal and injuries that are downright mysterious. While I hope he never gets injured, Rice has had concerns of his own, leaving the pitch at half time in the North London Derby following a back problem, same back problem that ruled William Saliba out for the latter end of the campaign.
With Partey currently 31-years-old and having one more year left on his Arsenal deal, I really hope that Arteta and Edu Gaspar have plans to sign a marquee central midfielder signing this summer. Jorginho is in the September of his career and this is probably Elneny’s last season with the club, and with Arteta having no trust for Albert Sambi Lokonga, a midfield acquisition has to be on the cards.
Kai Havertz hasn’t done enough to justify his position in the team and it’s evident that Arteta doesn’t fully trust Vieira or Smith Rowe to give them an extended run out in the team, so a new marquee midfielder signing has to be on the minds of the Arsenal hierarchy. It has been reported that Arsenal is interested in Martin Zubimendi, and I hope we go for the silky Spanish midfielder. In late 2022, Zubimendi signed a new contract which saw his time at Real Sociedad extended to 2027 with that including a €60million (£52.3m) release clause.
It’s unlikely that Arsenal will make the move for Zubimendi this winter transfer window, but a succession plan to Partey should be in place, as his injury issues have become downright frustrating.
I wish Partey a speedy recovery and would look forward to seeing him in action sometime in 2024.
Sayonara.
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