In the wake of the arrest of an unnamed Premier League player in North London on Monday morning, whose description is not far off from the Ghanaian, fans have taken to social media to react as player did not travel with squad for preseason.
It is now know that Party, 29, was not part of the Arsenal squad that made the trip to Germany, where the club prepare for preseason games and he is becoming the lone suspect to be the unnamed player.
The former Atletico Madrid man is 29 and expected to play in the World Cup later this year in Qatar, some of the characteristics of that unnamed player and having not been pictured with the rest of the squad could only translate to one thing, at least from fans perspective.
Partey is fit again and had been training with the rest of the squad. He was even fielded for 45 minutes in the 5-1 behind closed doors win over Ipswich Town but he has not traveled with the others.
The club has been urged to plan a season without the midfielder as cases like this could drag on for months and Partey is an integral part of the Arsenal set up, whose absence in the later part of the season literally costed them a spot in the Champions League next season.
Arsenal have Mohamed Elneny and Sambi Lokonga or even Granit Xhaka as replacements but none of these players in Partey’s quality.
The Gunnners have already spent big on Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira this summer while also looking at further additions. If it is indeed Thomas Partey, this might force them to extend their summer business.
It is a situation that if true, will surely put Mikel Arteta in a very difficult position as finding a replacement for Partey won’t come cheap and might ruined the plans they have for the available budget for the summer.
Moreso, Partey has not been a player that stays fit over the course of a season and that has been evidence in his years at Arsenal so either way, a replacement has to be sought.
Mohamed Elneny did a decent job in the Ghanaian’s absence last season but will be Egyptian able to replicate such performances and consistently when he is needed on a long term ?
Nonetheless if it is Partey or not, the early signs are not promising for The Gunners and something has to be done before kickoff of their Premier League match against Crystal Palace in less than a month from now.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
