Mikel Arteta has been forced to admit that the injured Thomas Partey 's impact on his team is "unquestionable," with the Arsenal midfielder facing an uphill battle to feature again this season.
The 28-year-old has been integral to the Gunners' recent turnaround, with six of the eight matches Partey has featured in since New Year's Day going down as Arsenal wins.
But until back-to-back victories over top-four rivals Chelsea and Manchester United, the Gunners had not come out on top in any of the six games they had been without him.
In a concerning situation, the Ghanian could miss the rest of the campaign with a thigh injury and ahead of Sunday's trip to West Ham United, Arteta underlined just how important Partey is.
"The stats are there and they are unquestionable," the Arsenal boss declared. "The win rate when Thomas is there is higher. It is something that is not good for us because in the last two seasons he has not been there as much as we want.
"We need him to play in that role on his own, with the quality he brings and the experience that he brings. And the fact he brings things that are unique that we want. Then we can accommodate players in other positions that for them are more relevant and can determine games in the way that we can.
"Otherwise we have to consider and improve with the players we have by using them in a different way, changing formation and finding ways to compensate." The former Atletico Madrid dynamo is pushing himself to the limit to make another appearance for the Gunners in the final month of term.
However, Arteta has warned against going to such extremes, adding: "He has been out injured and sometimes he pushes too far in order to play and he gets injured again. He is willing to help again to play this season. We don’t know if that is going to be possible, but for sure it won't be because of lack of intention from him."
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On a more positive note, Arsenal head into their clash with West Ham off the back of scoring seven goals during their past two wins. Following a run of just two in five matches, the Gunners are firing again and Arteta is cautiously optimistic that his team can qualify for the Champions League by ending the season on a high.
"There will still be some twists and turns, we all have difficult matches to play," the Spaniard affirmed. "We all know how difficult it is to win games in the Premier League and now we had two really good results that put us in a really good position. But it is about doing it again at West Ham.
"I think in the league when you are able to win consecutively away and at home, it gives you a huge platform and things quickly change. We have some momentum now and we want to make the most out of it."
