Arsenal suffer huge Thomas Partey injury blow vs Chelsea as midfielder joins list of players absent for Premier League opener against Brentford. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
Another Thomas Partey injury right when Arsenal did not need it. This now leaves a gaping hole in the middle of the pitch, the Gunners’ biggest problem area. His latest injury, picked up in the 2-1 loss to Chelsea, has fans feeling like we have been here before ahead of the Premier League opener against Brentford in under two weeks.
For what seems like forever, Arsenal and its star players have not had the best relationship when it comes to injuries: Cesc Fabregas and his hamstring issues, Robin van Persie saw the medical room as much as the doctors and now the previously invincible Thomas Partey has been struck with a similar curse.
The Ghanaian midfielder had missed a total of six games for Atletico Madrid in his seven-year spell in La Liga compared to his first year in north London, where he’s already missed 17 games. Arsenal simply has not had their star on the pitch for long enough.
When fit, Partey is key to how Arsenal move the ball and dominate the midfield. Without him, the Gunners simply struggle with the likes of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny used as a tandem. That is no disrespect to the pair, but they are not on Partey’s level, they cannot dictate games. They lack the physical control and mobility.
Arsenal suffer huge Thomas Partey injury blow vs Chelsea as midfielder joins list of players absent for Premier League opener against Brentford
The latest setback follows an eerily similar feeling, and this is Arsenal’s over-reliance on its “star” players. With hardly any depth to speak of, should Partey, Kieran Tierney (thankfully we have Nuno Tavares as back-up) Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang get injured for a prolonged period, Arsenal would nearly be unrecognizable. The Gunners are a shell of themselves without these players.
Mikel Arteta said post-game that it’s not a reassuring situation for Partey, while sources close to the player suggest the 28-year-old is quietly positive about his length of absence.
“I just had a talk with the doc [Gary O’Driscoll],” Arteta said in his post match press conference. “He’s going to have a scan tomorrow. At the moment it’s not looking good because he was in pain and could not continue. For Thomas it’s pretty unusual.”
Twitter’s resident sport scientist, Dr. Rajpal Brar, provided his diagnosis of the injury, which doesn’t bode too well.
“This is typically indicative of a “high ankle sprain” aka syndesmotic tear. These typically come with a 4-6 week return timeline if a grade 1 injury. Recent example is Harry Maguire.”
The Premier League season kicks off in less than two weeks. There is real reason to be worried, and Partey isn’t all of it.
Continued…
Partey’s level, they cannot dictate games. They lack the physical control and mobility.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Found the specific mechanism of injury for Partey (see picture).</p>
<p>This is typically indicative of a “high ankle sprain” aka syndesmotic tear. These typically come with a 4-6 week return timeline if a grade 1 injury. Recent example is Harry Maguire. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"https://t.co/syae1CWCjk">pic.twitter.com/syae1CWCjk
<p>— Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT (@3cbPerformance) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"https://twitter.com/3cbPerformance/status/1421855159743746049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 1, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div>
<h2>Arsenal suffer huge Thomas Partey injury blow vs Chelsea as midfielder joins list of players absent for Premier League opener against Brentford</h2>
<p>The latest setback follows an eerily similar feeling, and this is Arsenal’s over-reliance on its “star” players. With hardly any depth to speak of, should Partey, Kieran Tierney (thankfully we have Nuno Tavares as back-up) Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang get injured for a prolonged period, Arsenal would nearly be unrecognizable. The Gunners are a shell of themselves without these players.</p>
<p>Mikel Arteta said post-game that it’s not a reassuring situation for Partey, while <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/arsenal-suffer-double-injury-blow-ahead-of-premier-league-opener-granit-xhaka-set-to-stay-with-gunners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sources close to the player</a> suggest the 28-year-old is quietly positive about his length of absence.</p>
<blockquote><p>“I just had a talk with the doc [Gary O’Driscoll],” Arteta said in his post match press conference. “He’s going to have a scan tomorrow. At the moment it’s not looking good because he was in pain and could not continue. For Thomas it’s pretty unusual.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Twitter’s resident sport scientist, Dr. Rajpal Brar, provided his diagnosis of the injury, which doesn’t bode too well.</p>
<blockquote><p>“This is typically indicative of a “high ankle sprain” aka syndesmotic tear. These typically come with a 4-6 week return timeline if a grade 1 injury. Recent example is Harry Maguire.”</p></blockquote>
<p>The Premier League season kicks off in less than two weeks. There is real reason to be worried, and Partey isn’t all of it.</p>
<p><em>Continued…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Partey not the only injury scare </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-117058" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_389,w_590/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1232993266-850x560.jpeg" alt="Arsenal, Gabriel" width="590" height="389"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Gabriel dos Santos Magalhães of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal at Selhurst Park. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Gabriel Injury to Rule Him Out of Arsenal vs Brentford</h2>
<p>With Partey looking like being on the sidelines for at least a month according to some reports, this leaves a gaping hole in the middle of the pitch. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/07/19/arsenal-3-tactical-roles-sambi-lokonga/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Albert Lokonga</a> could very well find himself thrust into the starting side against Brentford, which most supporters will prefer so as not to see Mohamed Elneny lining up in midfield.</p>
<p>This has been a problem for the last decade; when star players go out, the next in line simply do not cut it. The lack of strength is depth is alarming. This is where Arteta and Edu must get their transfer business right as they have done with the acquisition of Ben White from Brighton, shoring up the central defense.</p>
<p>There is a silver lining in Partey’s injury and it is two-fold. Firstly, it has happened in the pre-season. If he is to be out for four weeks or so, there are still two weeks to go until the <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"https://www.90min.com/leagues/premier-league" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Premier League</a> begins, meaning potentially only two matches will be missed.</p>
<p>The other is we could see Albert Lokonga in action sooner rather than later. A baptism of fire for the 21-year-old surely awaits but it is exciting nonetheless. Having a younger player come in and be allowed to showcase his skills is something the Arsenal faithful will be looking forward to instead of the usual fringe players who simply are not up to it on a weekly basis. The Belgian has been impressive in every minute he’s played.</p>
<p>The Partey injury just has a typical Arsenal feel about it. Not missed a beat all pre-season and right before the league campaign gets underway, an injury to a key player and not just any player, the driving force for the entire team.</p>
<p>While there is still no official word on the injury sustained against Chelsea as the club is awaiting scan results, fans can only expect the worst. What this might do is kick Arteta’s recruitment into overdrive. The club cannot sit on its hands anymore, new players must arrive.</p>
<p>There is also a race against time for <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/07/31/gabriel-ben-white-arsenal-perfect-pair/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gabriel</a> to return from injury. Having missed all of pre-season due to a knee injury sustained with Brazil, he too is set to be absent on August 13.</p>
<p>Seeing the amount of times Arsenal were caught cold in transition against Chelsea, this is worrying.</p>
<blockquote><p>“We don’t know [if Gabriel will be available],” Arteta said. “He picked up an injury when he was in preparation for the Olympics with Brazil.</p>
<p>“At the moment he’s not been able to train with us. That seems unlikely at the moment [that he will play against Brentford]. Hopefully he can recover quickly.”</p></blockquote>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="The real Nico Pepe?" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/01/nicolas-pepe-finally-arsenal-star/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/02/partey-injury-arsenal-gabriel-blow/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2021/08/01/nicolas-pepe-finally-arsenal-star/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> The real Nico Pepe? </a> </div>
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<p>Adding Partey to the injury list while the same fringe players remain and few additions to the squad, this has an all too familiar feel about it, doesn’t it?</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
