Arsenal suffer huge Thomas Partey injury blow vs Chelsea

Another Thomas Partey injury right when Arsenal did not need it. This now leaves a gaping hole in the middle of the pitch, the Gunners’ biggest problem area. His latest injury, picked up in the 2-1 loss to Chelsea, has fans feeling like we have been here before ahead of the Premier League opener against Brentford in under two weeks.

For what seems like forever, Arsenal and its star players have not had the best relationship when it comes to injuries: Cesc Fabregas and his hamstring issues, Robin van Persie saw the medical room as much as the doctors and now the previously invincible Thomas Partey has been struck with a similar curse.

The Ghanaian midfielder had missed a total of six games for Atletico Madrid in his seven-year spell in La Liga compared to his first year in north London, where he’s already missed 17 games. Arsenal simply has not had their star on the pitch for long enough.

When fit, Partey is key to how Arsenal move the ball and dominate the midfield. Without him, the Gunners simply struggle with the likes of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny used as a tandem. That is no disrespect to the pair, but they are not on Partey’s level, they cannot dictate games. They lack the physical control and mobility.

Arsenal suffer huge Thomas Partey injury blow vs Chelsea as midfielder joins list of players absent for Premier League opener against Brentford

The latest setback follows an eerily similar feeling, and this is Arsenal’s over-reliance on its “star” players. With hardly any depth to speak of, should Partey, Kieran Tierney (thankfully we have Nuno Tavares as back-up) Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang get injured for a prolonged period, Arsenal would nearly be unrecognizable. The Gunners are a shell of themselves without these players.

Mikel Arteta said post-game that it’s not a reassuring situation for Partey, while sources close to the player suggest the 28-year-old is quietly positive about his length of absence.

"“I just had a talk with the doc [Gary O’Driscoll],” Arteta said in his post match press conference. “He’s going to have a scan tomorrow. At the moment it’s not looking good because he was in pain and could not continue. For Thomas it’s pretty unusual.”"

Twitter’s resident sport scientist, Dr. Rajpal Brar, provided his diagnosis of the injury, which doesn’t bode too well.

"“This is typically indicative of a “high ankle sprain” aka syndesmotic tear. These typically come with a 4-6 week return timeline if a grade 1 injury. Recent example is Harry Maguire.”"

The Premier League season kicks off in less than two weeks. There is real reason to be worried, and Partey isn’t all of it.

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