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.
Unfortunately, Arsenal has not had the opportunity to fully feature Partey regularly this season with the plethora of injuries he has suffered this campaign. He played the entire game in the Community Shield victory over Manchester City and Arteta featured him in an unorthodox inverted right back role at the start of the season. Partey clearly struggled with the role, and the imbalance in the squad was evident, so his injury, as unfortunate as it was, allowed the gaffer to return to his trusted setup and the football drastically improved.
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 October international break, only to suffer another injury in training ahead of the away game to Sevilla.
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 were worsened after the Mirror reported that Partey underwent a surgical specialist procedure to mitigate a thigh injury and he would be out for a long time. 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, and as we recall, Partey missed the tournament, even though Ghana stunk the whole place with their shambolic performances in the tourney.
Sometime in late January, we received encouraging news that Partey had returned to full training, and Arsenal fans went ballistic, as they had salivated on the prospect of seeing Partey play alongside Rice in the heart of Arsenal’s midfield. All smiles regarding Partey’s fitness were turned upside down with Mikel Arteta’s latest press conference,
“Thomas, unfortunately, had a little setback a few days ago so he’s not going to be available to be in the squad. Whether it’s a matter of days or weeks we will see, but he had a little thing.
I’m not a doctor but he felt something again in a very similar area and he wasn’t able to train the last few days. It’s a big concern.”
I think it’s high time we cut our losses with Partey and cash in on him this summer. Knowing how we handle player sales, I am not filled with any confidence that the club will recoup close to the £45m we paid for him four seasons ago, but he will have one year left on his deal this summer and Arsenal will be at crossroads, on whether to renew his deal or sell to the highest bidder.
It’s highly unlikely that Arsenal will renew Partey’s deal, amid the rumors that the club is keen on signing Martin Zubimendi this summer. I’m very happy Arsenal took that significant step in signing Rice from West Ham, and he has been instrumental in the club’s Premier League title charge this season.
Partey will eventually recover at some point in the season, and we can only hope he contributes between when he returns to full fitness and the end of the campaign, but it has been very disappointing to see how his time with us has panned out.
Sayonara.
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