Mikel Arteta has revealed that Thomas Partey was close to being involved in Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Newcastle United and hopes the midfielder could be back in action in midweek.
The Ghana international quickly became an important member of the team after signing from Atletico Madrid, but only played five league games before succumbing to a hip injury.
Thomas has thus missed the Gunners’ last six Premier League fixtures, with his last outing being in the north London derby defeat where he left the pitch just as Spurs strode forward to score and his manager had to explain how his midfielder didn’t realise the importance of the moment, as he was in so much pain.
The No. 18 was thought to be in contention for the cup match on Saturday, which the Gunners emerged victorious from thanks to two goals in extra time, from Emile Smith Rowe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
But he remains a little way "short" of involvement, according to his manager, with the upcoming Premier League game against Crystal Palace a more realistic target for a return.
"We assessed the situation, how much training he's done, the boxes that he ticked and he was still a little bit short," Arteta explained.
"Hopefully we will have him in the squad on Thursday.
"Let's see how he trains in the next couple of days. He's really good at the moment."
The Gunners have moved up the table somewhat after three straight wins, the latest of which was a 4-0 thrashing of West Brom, but they remain in the bottom half after a poor start to the campaign.
They remain reportedly keen to add a creative midfield presence to play along with Thomas, but Arteta has stated the priority for January is to offload those on the fringes of the squad.
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