Thomas Partey will make Arsenal’s squad for their key Premier League showdown with Manchester City, manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed.
The Ghana midfielder has not played at all for the Gunners since the 2-2 home draw with Fulham on August 26, having picked up a groin injury in training on the eve of the visit of Manchester United to north London.
Partey was quickly ruled out for between six to eight weeks and was unavailable to face United and for the subsequent meetings across all competitions against Everton, PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham, Brentford and Bournemouth.
However, the former Atletico Madrid star returned to training at London Colney in advance of Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Lens, where he remained an unused substitute as Arsenal slumped to a shock 2-1 loss in Group B.
Despite not bringing him on in France, Arteta insists that Partey is ready, ahead of schedule in terms of his fitness and looks set to play a role in the crucial clash with top-flight title rivals City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
“Well, he’s ahead of schedule that’s for sure,” Arteta told reporters of Partey’s condition at Friday’s pre-match press conference.
“We wanted to have him in the squad if we needed to, the way the [Lens] game panned out we had other necessities and we didn’t use him. He will be in the squad.”
