Arsenal kick off their Premier League campaign on Friday 13 August and as per the initial reports, midfielder Thomas Partey will be absentee for the first two games.
Partey suffered a knock during Arsenal’s pre-season friendly against Chelsea on Sunday and speaking after the match, manager Mikel Arteta had hinted that the 28-year-old could remain on the sidelines for some time.
“I just had a talk with the doctor,” Arteta said after the friendly game.
“He’s going to have a scan tomorrow and at the moment it’s not looking good because he was in pain and he could not continue which, for Thomas, is pretty unusual.”
Thomas Partey had a scan on Monday and as per the fresh reports, the midfielder is expected to miss the Brentford game as well as the match against Chelsea.
Football London’s Arsenal correspondent Chris Wheatley wrote on Twitter: “Initial prognosis on Thomas Partey’s injury is that he’s expected to miss the first couple of games of the season.
“Xhaka, Lokonga, Willock & Elneny among the potential central midfield options for the Premier League opener vs Brentford.”
Initial prognosis on Thomas Partey's injury is that he's expected to miss the first couple of games of the season.
Xhaka, Lokonga, Willock & Elneny among the potential central midfield options for the Premier League opener vs Brentford.https://t.co/tij9eoSJDN
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley_) August 3, 2021
ESPN’s James Olley has also tracked this news stating that Thomas Partey is set to meet a specialist later this week but at first glance, he is surely going to be absent for the first few weeks.
He wrote on Twitter: “Thomas Partey will miss the start of the season for Arsenal. Due to see a specialist later this week on his ankle injury, exact timescale unclear but indications are he’ll be out for a few weeks.”
Thomas Partey will miss the start of the season for Arsenal. Due to see a specialist later this week on his ankle injury, exact timescale unclear but indications are he'll be out for a few weeks.
— James Olley (@JamesOlley) August 3, 2021
Who will replace Thomas Partey in midfield?
Arsenal take on newly-promoted Brentford in their season opener and summer signing Albert Sambi Lokonga should get his first start in midfield alongside Granit Xhaka. The manager will obviously want to kick things off with a win but he will be much more concerned about the Chelsea game.
There’s no way Lokonga will feature in central midfield against a team like Chelsea so if Thomas Partey cannot be fully fit in time then Elneny will get the nod alongside Xhaka.
