Thomas Partey is expected to join Kieran Tierney in the treatment room and might miss the remainder of the season as Arsenal continue their pursuit of the top four spots. Manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that the Ghana international has sustained a ‘significant’ injury.
It took some time for Partey to get used to life in London following his high-profile move from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2020 for a sum of 50 million euros. However, he has been an essential part of Arteta’s side over the last few months and has looked splendid in midfield.
Partey being ruled out for the remainder of the Premier League top-four race could cause serious concerns for Arsenal. The Gunners can ill afford any long-term injury absentees because of their already stretched and thin squad.
Kieran Tierney’s knee injury as well as the resulting surgery which will keep him on the sidelines at least until the summer was already a harsh pill for Arsenal fans to swallow. Losing Partey could be an even bigger issue and the manager’s words didn’t inspire confidence either.
The midfielder limped off the Selhurst Park pitch with an injury to his right thigh during the 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. Arteta does not seem confident that Partey can take to the pitch in the remaining nine Premier League games.
“It’s a little bit ambiguous but he has a significant injury and we’ll have to keep assessing him. He will be for some weeks. It could be [that he can play again this season] but it could not be the case, because it’s an area where he had a previous injury as well and he felt it straightaway. He’s not fit,”
he told the Guardian.
The defeat to Patrick Vieira’s Palace came as a shock to many as the Gunners had been in flying form before that. Arteta’s side had no answers to the questions asked by the Crystal Palace frontline and ended up losing 0-3.
Despite that loss, Arsenal are still the favourites to qualify for the Champions League and have a game in hand over Tottenham Hotspur, who are in fourth place with the same number of points – 54.
2021/22 Premier League top 6
| # | Team | Matches played | Goal difference | Points |
| 1 | Manchester City | 30 | +52 | 73 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 30 | +57 | 72 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 29 | +35 | 59 |
| 4 | Tottenham | 30 | +15 | 54 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 29 | +10 | 54 |
| 6 | West Ham | 31 | +11 | 51 |
