Mikel Arteta has denied that Arsenal brought Thomas Partey back from injury too early before the midfielder limped out of action again during Sunday's loss to Tottenham.
The Gunners' £45million summer signing missed four matches with a thigh problem but started the north London derby against their rivals.
Partey only lasted 45 minutes, though, before being withdrawn on the stroke of half-time, and is now ruled out of Arsenal's next few matches as a result.
But Arteta insists the decision was made to play Partey after he had come through all pre-match fitness tests unscathed.
"He did incredibly well and was very confident," the Arsenal boss said of Partey's performance. "We tested him three times and he had zero incidents.
"In football you have a lot of unpredictable actions.
“He went into the floor, his knee got stuck, afterwards he stretched and got up.
"Immediately he put a lot of stress in a similar area and it happened.
"Afterwards people will say it was a bit early but I don’t think it was because he was completely fine to play."
The recurrence of Partey's injury could not have come at a worse time for Arsenal, as the Ghanaian walked off the pitch as Spurs were counter attacking for their second goal.
Arteta tried to push his player back on the field to at least try and stem that single attack, but his attempts to re-join play came too late.
It has now been confirmed the 27-year-old will be sidelined for several key fixtures in the run-up to Christmas, starting with the visit of Burnley on Sunday.
“He got injured in the same area, not exactly the same spot but the same area as before," Arteta said. "He will miss the next few matches."
How should Arteta set up his team to cope with Partey's absence? Have your say below.
Partey took to social media on Thursday to address the criticism aimed at Arteta and Arsenal's medical team.
"Being part of the Arsenal family is something incredible for me, since the day I arrived I have felt so supported," he wrote on Instagram.
"The coach had a great influence in my decision to join this team and even though we had some bad results I know we are building something good together.
"I have had the bad luck to suffer an injury but I hope I can play again soon and fight for this team."
