6 Arsenal alternatives for Thomas Partey in midfield

Ross Kennerley

6 Arsenal midfield alternatives for Thomas Partey after the Ghanaian was ruled out through injury for two weeks (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)

Arsenal, Thomas Partey — 6 Arsenal midfield alternatives for Thomas Partey after the Ghanaian was ruled out through injury for two weeks (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)

Arsenal will be without Thomas Partey for the upcoming stretch of fixtures, starting with Leeds in the Premier League on Sunday and potentially including the return leg of the Europa League round of 32 against Benfica.

Hearing in the aftermath of the Aston Villa defeat that the issue was only minor, and seeing a seemingly unbothered Thomas Partey walk casually off the pitch raised spirits ahead of a week-long break from action.

Then on Thursday the news hit of the Ghanaian’s absence for the weekend, which was followed by further information regarding the length of time sidelined. Up to two weeks of rehabilitation appears to be the result.

It’s somewhat unclear whether it is 14 days before he returns to training or back in action, but for the time being all that is concerning is him not being available for the next two matches. The rest we’ll see after.

6 Arsenal alternatives for Thomas Partey after the midfielder was ruled out through injury for two weeks

Something will now have to change.

Mikel Arteta’s marquee signing not being available isn’t new to him. He’s had to deal with the setback before, missing eight matches of the season to date and starting only nine. It’s still a crushing blow.

With traits no other member of the midfield troupe possesses, how he goes about maintaining the balance in that area becomes arguably his biggest task.

As such, he has to find some alternatives for Partey to not only avoid disrupting the status quo, but to halt the current slump. Here are the options facing him, on the educated assumption that Granit Xhaka will start.

Mohamed Elneny

And the crowd goes mild.

Does anybody want to see a Mohamed Elneny and Xhaka double pivot? No, didn’t think so. But in truth, there is no partnership anyone wants to see other than Xhaka and Partey, so it’s tough luck on that one.

Bringing Elneny into the fold will counteract all the positive elements that Partey brings. With eyes only ever in the back of his head, every pass slows down the play or brings it to a crashing halt. Leeds would thrive on that. With the pressing of Raphinha, Patrick Bamford and Jack Harrison, as well as the rest of the team, Elneny’s negativity would merely invite unwanted pressure on top of already unwanted pressure.

What he is OK at is receiving the ball under pressure from Bernd Leno and going wide, but his passing both short, medium and long has been beyond average in the cameo appearances he’s had of late, so his ‘best’ feature becomes null and void. However, he’s arguably got the best stamina of all the other options.

Dani Ceballos

The most likely candidate for Arteta to go with is his fellow Spaniard, who hasn’t played any part in the last five Premier League outings. Three of those were missed through injury, while he bizarrely wasn’t called from the bench against Villa after Partey was forced off. We can only presume that was fitness related.

What could Dani Ceballos offer? Depending on which example you use, a variety of elements.

Back at Elland Road he was mostly awful, misplacing passes short or long and being completely overrun in midfield. In his most recent start, the 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, there was a period in the first half where he was playing like someone with a point to prove.

His one-touch moves were slick, and he produced the two best passes of his Arsenal career in the space of 20 minutes. It didn’t last, however, and he reverted to his old ways.

Without Partey Arsenal lack the press resistant midfielder, but in Ceballos they at least have someone who can, on occasion, bypass that press with a pass.

Having not played in the last five games there is the obvious worry that he’ll be lacking match sharpness, which against statistically the hardest runners in the division is understandably nerving.

Martin Odegaard

This is risky territory. Being dished up a small serving of Martin Odegaard in the same side as Emile Smith Rowe against Villa, the very minor signs of further minutes together on the pitch for the pair sparked a few eager thoughts.

However, the idea of a 4-3-3 with Smith Rowe and Odegaard either side relies so heavily on an agile and mobile holding midfielder. Playing Xhaka in that role and having the pair either side is a heavy burden to place on someone who will not be able to cover all that space for what will be such an intense affair. It’s asking for trouble.

Where it could work is that Odegaard and Smith Rowe are Arsenal’s quickest technical operators, who will play the ball out of danger faster and prevent sustained periods of Leeds pressure.

Once a Marcelo Bielsa side has you within their grasp they keep cranking up the intensity, therefore having two players of similar ball carrying ability who can move the ball through the thirds will lessen the pile-on.

Do the potential gains outweigh the negatives? This clash is already set up to be a slugfest, as per almost every Leeds game, and by adopting this approach it will hark back to the Unai Emery days of rather winning 5-4 than 1-0.

Calum Chambers

Oh yeah, him!

Is this where the situation has come to? Suggesting that a central defender who started his career out at right-back and played one season as a holding midfielder in a woeful Fulham side is a genuine option? Absolutely not.

However, the decision to send both Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock out on loan, leaving four options in central midfield, one of whom is repeatedly injured, one who is reliable enough but sorely lacking in some departments and two who haven’t been able to produce on a regular basis must’ve been done with a contingency plan in mind. Could that man be Calum Chambers?

No.

Just because he won Player of the Season in a Cottagers side that shipped 81 goals and won just two matches against sides outside of the bottom five (they were Bournemouth and Burnley who finished 14th and 15th respectively) does not mean he can suddenly play there. It especially doesn’t mean he can start his first Premier League match since December 2019.

Is there any intrigue as to how he’d do? Sure, yeah, there is. But this isn’t the time nor the place to be testing that theory. Except if a few more players fall foul to injury in which case the hands are firmly tied.

Miguel Azeez

This lad will be playing top-level football for the rest of his career. That might be a bold statement were it not for everyone who watches him to be enamoured by his style. Basing himself on his idol Sergio Busquets, he isn’t of the overly defensive mould one might think.

Sometimes opting to field a midfield diamond, Steve Bould’s Under-23 side will have Tim Akinola sitting with the added protection of Miguel Azeez, but still allowing him to support in attack where he possesses a wicked shot.

If he were to play alongside Xhaka the the 18-year-old would be given greater license to push up a few yards and help sustain forward movements, as his distribution either side or through the middle is extremely impressive for someone his age.

By all accounts he still fits more into the No. 6 mould, but his surprising technical ability and sudden bursts of pace will be welcome attributes to Arsenal in the years to come. Of all the players coming through the academy ranks, he’s surely top of the list to be next.

Depending on how this season pans out, it would be great for Azeez to earn a few minutes even if the signs point more towards involvement in pre-season ahead of a season-long loan elsewhere. For now he’s carrying a knock and missed the last two Under-23 fixtures.

His time will come.

Arsenal, Granit Xhaka — BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 06: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)

Granit Xhaka Dropping Out

It’s an option, but one that just isn’t going to happen. Only Rob Holding and Bukayo Saka have played more outfield minutes this season for Arsenal, with Xhaka just 78 minutes shy of the central defender’s total. Will Arteta rest him before Benfica?

Of course he won’t.

But coming back to the aforementioned option, playing Odegaard and Smith Rowe with the Swiss as the sole holding option is borderline football suicide.

That, of course, means that the it would be an Elneny pivot with those two either side. The thought of Elneny playing after his form dropped off a cliff after a positive few weeks is terrifying, not least because he’s managed just 35 minutes of football this calendar year and they were hardly awe-inspiring.

The only way Arteta could be swayed is due to Elneny being more capable of covering space and keeping up with the intensity of Leeds’ game for a full match. He may only ponder over that thought for as long as it takes him to tie his shoelace.

What it shows is the sheer lack of quality depth that Arsenal have in key areas of the pitch. Partey is out and all hell breaks loose. Heck, if the Ghanaian is out for two weeks or more than the decision to loan Joe Willock out also may rack Arteta’s brain. If Ceballos suffers a recurrence then it’s Xhaka and Elneny as the double pivot, with no other options. Still with development to come, Miguel Azeez’s skill set wouldn’t go amiss in such times.

Whatever the outcome, Xhaka will play. How bad could it get if he falls foul to injury? Nobody dare think.