Charles Watts has revealed that although Thomas Partey is ‘progressing well’ from injury, he won’t be involved in Arsenal’s next few games.
The Gunners have a massive week ahead of them.
First, Mikel Arteta’s side take on Benfica in a last-32 Europa League clash in Rome on Thursday, before then hosting high-flying Manchester City who have won 16 games in a row.
Partey is a massive player for Arsenal following a £45 million October move from Atletico Madrid, but this is his third injury since arriving in North London already.
Watts, who covers for the club for Goal.com, has told his YouTube channel that he’s been told positive things about the Ghanaian’s recovery, but tomorrow and Sunday come way too soon for the big midfielder.
He said: “Thomas Partey certainly not going to be involved yet, with that hamstring issue. He’s still a couple of weeks away, although he’s supposedly, from what I hear, doing very well and pretty happy with the progress that’s been made. Still, he’s not going be involved this weekend against Man City.”
One other bit of brilliant news for Arsenal is that Kieran Tierney was spotted training at London Colney on Tuesday.
The Scot has been absent since a victory over Newcastle United last month but it’ll be interesting to see whether he’s involved tomorrow.
You could argue that if the North Londoners’ aim is to achieve Champions League qualification, winning the Europa League is the more likely route than finishing in the top four and therefore Arteta probably should prioritise tomorrow’s game with Benfica over the City clash at the weekend.
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