Goal’s Arsenal correspondent Charles Watts has provided an injury update on the Gunners’ Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey.
The 27-year-old middleman has now been out of action for the north London club’s previous four fixtures in the Premier League (per Transfermarkt).
Prior to that, the last time he featured for Arsenal was at the beginning of December during the 2-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, where he featured for just 45 minutes.
Before the defeat against Spurs, the central midfielder had missed two other league games as he was struggling to overcome a hamstring issue (via Metro).
During the latest video uploaded on Charles Watts’ YouTube channel, the reporter discussed the latest on the Ghanaian midfielder.
He said: “Good news on Thomas Partey: he was training yesterday at London Colney – pictured working with the group as well.
“Arsenal are still saying he’s doing more individual sessions at the moment, working with the fitness coaches, but he was working with the players yesterday a little bit.
“We saw him pictured in that, so Thomas Partey [is] now getting very, very close to a return. I don’t think we’re going to be seeing him tonight, but he’s certainly edging towards full fitness now.
“You’d think potentially West Brom is an opportunity where we might see Thomas Partey back for the first time but if not then, then certainly the FA Cup and the double-header against Newcastle in the Premier League.”
TIF Thoughts on what Charles Watts said about Thomas Partey…
As can be seen in what the Arsenal correspondent had to say, he believes that the midfielder will “certainly” be back in action for the Gunners soon.
Have you been impressed with Thomas Partey since he signed for the club?
No, not good enough yet
Yes, he's been solid
The Ghanaian has only made five Premier League appearances for Arteta’s side so far this season, however, he has proven himself to be a defensive rock in those games.
Over the five outings, Partey has made an average of 2.0 tackles per games – which is the joint-most in the squad – and his 88.5% passing accuracy is the third-best for Arsenal (per WhoScored).
So, it seems likely that the £45m-rated midfielder will be a welcome return for the north London club.