Mikel Arteta confirms extent of Arsenal star’s injury and when we can expect him to return

Mikel Arteta has spoken about Thomas Partey’s injury ahead of Arsenal’s lunchtime kick-off against Aston Villa. 

Partey missed Arsenal’s crucial top-of-the-table clash against Manchester City on Wednesday night, with Arsenal fans desperate for the Ghanaian to return against Aston Villa at the weekend.

Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, Partey wasn’t named in the squad when the teams were released on Saturday morning, and shortly after Arteta spoke to the press regarding the extent of Partey’s injury.

Arteta on Partey:

“He’s not fit. He didn’t even train with us yesterday. He probably needs another week.” pic.twitter.com/3Gu5rLtRKQ

— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) February 18, 2023

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Arsenal travel to Leicester City next weekend, but if Arteta believes Partey needs another week then we could see him rested until Arsenal host Everton a few days later.

Either way, Partey is a huge miss for Arsenal as we saw on Wednesday night.

Jorginho stepped in to replace Partey on Wednesday night and he did the same against Aston Villa on Saturday, but the former doesn’t quite offer the same defensive protection.

Jorginho is extremely comfortable in possession but certainly lacks defensively. Arsenal dominated possession against Manchester City on Wednesday, recording the highest possession percentage against Pep Guardiola since he took over at Manchester City manager.