Thomas Partey has sent a clear Arsenal message amid doubts over his availability for Wednesday's Champions League clash against Monaco. Due to a number of defensive injuries, Partey filled in at right-back against Fulham this past weekend, but there is now concern he has also suffered an issue.
Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes have missed the last two games for the Gunners and were subsequently not spotted out on the grass at London Colney for Arsenal's open training session on Tuesday. To the surprise of many, Partey and Jurrien Timber were also not present, which sparked two new injury concerns.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta addressed those worries in his press conference later that afternoon, but did not specifically reference any stars. "We have to manage a lot of the players," he said. "Some of them probably aren’t going to be fit. Some are still a doubt. We have 24 hours to make a decision and hopefully it’ll be the right ones."
Timber and Partey's training absence is likely due to load management but the concerns over Gabriel and Calafiori are only increasing with Arteta providing more detail on their respective injuries in the embargoed section of his press conference.
“We need a cage there because he wants to go out, train and play,” he said of Calafiori. “We need to calm him down because he is so willing. It is the way he is, the way he plays. It started with the national team with a kick, then he had the knee issue.
"After that he lost a lot of things. Because of the injuries he had to play more than we wanted. And then he got the issue in his groin.” On Gabriel, he added: “Big Gabi has not had a muscular injury [before, but] he is playing a lot now, he is travelling, going to Brazil, he is a starter with Brazil."
Given those updates, it certainly suggests both will not be available to face Monaco and thus Timber and Partey being fit enough to feature may be crucial for Arteta. The pair have both dealt with big injury blows in the last 18 months, but Partey has suggested he will involved for the Gunners on Wednesday.
On Instagram, the midfielder posted a pre-match graphic promoting the upcoming European fixture against Monaco, an action usually taken by a player set to feature.
Thomas Partey posted to his Instagram story before the game against Monaco
Thomas Partey posted to his Instagram story before the game against Monaco (Image: Thomas Partey on Instagram)
Arteta having Partey fit for selection will come as a huge boost given the other issues in his squad. While Gabriel, Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko are all huge doubts, there are several other options that can play alongside William Saliba and at left-back including Timber, Declan Rice, Jakub Kiwior and Kieran Tierney.
Meanwhile, Partey is seemingly one of the only players that can be deployed at right-back with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White ruled out while Timber has switched over to the left.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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