Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has admitted he doesn't know the full extent of the injury that kept Thomas Partey out of their huge title showdown against Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Billed as the biggest game of the Emirates era, the Gunners were eventually outclassed by the experience of Pep Guardiola's men who would have no doubt been overjoyed when news of Partey's absence broke. The Ghanaian could do little more than sit and watch his teammates suffer in their 3-1 home defeat to the reigning champions.
Before the game, plenty of the discourse was centred around Partey and whether he'd feature. Shortly after the news of his injury broke, footage emerged online of Partey in the usual pre-match tracksuit arriving at the team hotel, sparking the suggestion he'd be in the line-up.
It wasn't to be, however, with the former Atletico Madrid man the most glaring omission from the team sheet as January signing Jorginho started in his place.
The ex-Chelsea ace actually impressed for the most part, but Partey's absence was impossible to ignore as the Gunners struggled to break lines with the kind of regularity they have in most games this term.
Before kick-off, Arteta told Amazon Prime exactly what it was that was causing Partey problems, claiming: "It’s what happens in football. Players pick up injuries.
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"Unfortunately Thomas felt something in his back muscle and he wasn’t available to play today."
Following the full-time whistle, Arteta faced further questions on Partey's fitness amid mounting concerns his spell on the sidelines could see him miss more than just the City clash.
Asked how Partey was and whether his absence played a part in the defeat for his side, Arteta replied: "We don’t know. It’s what happens, it’s part of football. I think Jorgi played a good game and we have to assess Tommy to see how bad it is."
The Gunners boss also went on to admit that he only discovered the extent of Partey's injury and that he'd be unable to play "very, very late", potentially marring Arteta's pre-match plans and preparations.
It remains unclear whether Partey will have recovered in time for Saturday's trip to Aston Villa, but with or without the midfielder Arsenal desperately need to halt this decline.
They are now without a win in four games and have seen City leapfrog them into top spot following Wednesday night's face-off. Losing to Villa, now led by ex-Arsenal boss Unai Emery, would be a huge blow to Arteta's title aspirations.
