Mikel Arteta has confirmed in his post-match press conference that Thomas Partey’s injury was in the ‘same area’, the ace made a clearly premature return from a thigh injury in the defeat to rivals Spurs.
Partey pulled up with an injury in the 45th minute after sliding in on Spurs winger Steven Bergwijn to win the ball after a heavy touch left him in trouble.
It’s ended up as one of the most notable moments of the defeat as Partey was off the pitch when Spurs hit the Gunners on the break, the midfielder was pushed back on by Mikel Arteta.
Partey ran a couple of strides before he pulled up again, which was just moments before Giovani Lo Celso played the ball into Heung-Min Son – who in turn teed up strike partner Harry Kane.
Arteta was also questioned on whether Partey should’ve ran back on the pitch with the interviewer citing the ‘sacrifice’ that players may need to make, but the Spaniard added that the fact the midfielder was likely in a ‘lot of pain’ prevented him from running back immediately.
See More: ‘Leaders don’t allow that’ and ‘you wouldn’t walk off’ – Souness and Alex Scott react to Thomas Partey’s decision to walk off as Spurs scored second against Arsenal
Here's what Mikel Arteta has had to say on Thomas Partey's injury and that the ace didn't run back onto the pitch immediately before Spurs scored their second… pic.twitter.com/PU0w5FYry5
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) December 6, 2020
“Yeah, I haven’t seen action replay, to the first question, he is injured and it is in the same area, unfortunately we don’t know how bad it is.”
“Secondly, I was trying to push him, I don’t think he realised the gravity of the situation when he left his position, that probably was because he was in a lot of pain, there’s nothing we can do at the moment to resolve that.”
It was surprising to see Partey included in the starting lineup, as the ace missed four games following an injury that also forced him off at halftime in the loss to Aston Villa.
Whilst some supporters would’ve been delighted to see their marquee man featuring from the get-go today, the decision to do so from Arteta and Co. has ultimately left Partey aggravating the same issue and it also directly cost them a goal in today’s defeat to their heated rivals.
With this result now making it 5 defeats out of Arsenal’s last seven Premier League games, the last thing they need is a key player sidelined again – but there’s unfortunately no one to blame but themselves.