Arsenal confirm Thomas Partey injury fears as Mikel Arteta hands out first start

15 February 2023 , 18:30

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Arsenal confirm Thomas Partey injury fears as Mikel Arteta hands out first start

Jorginho has come in for his first start for Arsenal as the Gunners take on Manchester City, with Thomas Partey absent with a muscular injury.

Takehiro Tomiyasu also starts for the Gunners at right-back in pace of Ben White.

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Partey trained with his Gunners team-mates on Tuesday, but is missing from Mikel Arteta's squad for the game.

Arteta said: "It's what happens in football. Unfortunately Thomas felt something in his back muscle and he wasn't available to play today."

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The 29-year-old has started 18 of Arsenal's 21 matches in the Premier League this season, and has been a key figure in their rise to the top of the table.

Partey's injury is not thought to be a serious one, but it is considered severe enough for him to sit out the visit of Pep Guardiola's men.

Partey is absent for Arsenal (Getty Images)

Arteta is taking on the club where he served as an assistant boss under Guardiola, and was full of praise for his former club on Tuesday.

When asked about City's biggest threat, he said: "They as a team. What they have done in the last six years, they absolutely merit it - on the pitch and the way they play, the way they have competed and how they have gone through difficulties.

"For us, the challenge is to get to that level and we need to use that challenge and that energy to say ‘this is where we want to be.’ That is the level, and we are heading towards it."

When pressed on whether beating City would be special to him, he said: "It’s for the team, the club and where we are. For me personally, it is not about beating one manager, it is about beating the next opponent, and in this case, it is Man City.

"I was working there, I was studying a lot, but I was working there. It was an incredible experience on a personal and professional level, to be with him and all the coaching staff and the players at the time.

"Like every experience, it made me a better person, a better coach for sure. You use those experiences for your own career."

Arsenal XI : Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Jorginho, Xhaka, Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli.

Man City XI: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Bernardo, Mahrez, Grealish, Haaland

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