Arsenal: Thomas Partey World Cup dreams suffer huge blow

Arsenal bid a temporary farewell to a host of players during the most recent international break, with the third instalment of the season seeing 15 members of the senior squad jet away with their nations.

One of the most notable inclusions was Emile Smith Rowe linking up with England for the first time, while Gabriel also received his first senior call-up to the Brazil squad.

Among the usual suspects was Thomas Partey. The Ghanaian is a regular for his national team and an inevitable inclusion each time the fixtures come around, although a groin strain picked up in the build-up to the 1-0 win over Watford risked his involvement.

A sensible decision was made to monitor his progress at London Colney, miss the Black Stars’ first outing against Ethiopia and then assess whether he could return for their meeting with South Africa on home soil.

Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey suffers huge World Cup blow as Ghana face upward battle to qualify for 2022 tournament ahead of South Africa

Left to watch on from afar, Partey will have been devastated to see Ghana limp to a 1-1 draw in their meeting with the Walia Ibex on Thursday, a result that leaves their hopes of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup hanging by a thread.

Andre Ayew opened the scoring at the Orlando Stadium but the visitors were pegged back in the 72th minute by Getaneh Kebede and failed to find the all important winner. It’s a result that leaves them level on points with South Africa heading into the final round of fixtures.

In CAF qualifying only the sides that finish top of their four-team groups will advance to the final stage, where the ten group winners play in knockout-style home and away matches to determine which five sides enter into the 2022 World Cup.

South Africa will face bottom of the group Zimbabwe on Friday knowing victory can put them within touching distance of entering the final round. A win would see them move three points clear of Ghana ahead of their meeting, which means Ghana will not only need to win but overturn whatever goal difference there is between the sides by that time.

Ghana have a +3 goal difference while South Africa boast a +4 difference. They are expected to see off Zimbabwe relatively comfortably and boost that even higher.

Not only is that draw a huge blow to their chances of qualification, it also may see Ghana rush Partey back from injury in time to feature. His presence will be vital to Charles Akonnor, although with a Premier League clash against Liverpool next up for Arsenal, his club will be far more reluctant.

Come on you Black Stars.