Is an injury to blame for Thomas Partey’s poor form?

For much of the season, Thomas Partey has been heralded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League, but his form has nosedived since the international break.

While many blame William Saliba’s injury for Arsenal’s drop in form, it’s impossible to overlook Partey’s decline over the last four weeks, even if he has been asked to work harder with Rob Holding in the team.

His poor form has led to speculation from Sam Dean on the Arsenal Beat Podcast that he may be carrying an injury: “Thomas Partey has dropped off a cliff in the past few games. He’s forgotten how to play football in the same way, and watching him against City on Wednesday was bizarre. I don’t know about his fitness and I’ve not asked anyone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was carrying something.”

Dean’s theory may not be far from the truth. It’s well known that Arsenal sent a physio with Partey to Ghana during the international break, and he did miss their second game with a knock. However, we were told at the time it was precautionary.

Is Thomas Partey carrying an injury?

Given his injury history, fans will be worried, and with him being asked to cover more ground in the absence of Saliba, it is currently costing Arsenal heavily.

The last four games have completely derailed Arsenal’s title chase, but with Chelsea on a five-game losing streak, they need to bounce back quickly to ensure the season does not finish on a whimper.

If Partey is carrying an injury, Arteta has to act. As a lone six at Arsenal, he is required to cover a huge amount of ground, and that is simply not possible for a player who is not close to full fitness.

That leaves Arteta with two options. The first is a like-for-like switch with Jorginho, who would be fired up to face his old club and is more than capable of excelling in that role for Arsenal. Or, the alternative is playing a double pivot with Martin Odegaard at 10.

The double-pivot option isn’t Arteta’s preference with his current side, as he has evolved past it, but sometimes you have to adapt to personnel issues or the opponent you’re facing, which is something Man City have excelled at this season. And, if Pep Guardiola can move past his preferences to win, so can Arteta.

With the double pivot, the pressure on Partey to cover vast areas is reduced as he has support with and without the ball. Even without an injury, this could be very useful in the absence of Saliba to stabilize a team that currently looks a little lost.

With Chelsea’s confidence completely gone, they may see this as a free hit, and should come out fighting, so it won’t be an easy game for Arsenal, and Arteta has to do something to get that spark back; it may start with addressing the Thomas Partey issue.