Thomas Partey’s injury is a big concern – Mikel Arteta

Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta  has admitted that the injury suffered by his midfielder Thomas Partey  is a big concern in the run in.

Thomas Partey left the pitch to what appeared to be a thigh injury midway through the second half.

The Ghana international signaled that he needed to come off, but the hosts broke through Wilfried Zaha before the ball could be kicked out of play and were awarded a penalty when Martin Odegaard tripped the Palace winger.

Partey limped off before the penalty was taken. It could be a while before we see the midfielder in action again.

His form alongside Granit Xhaka in midfield has been a big part of Arsenal’s recent form so a prolonged spell on the sidelines will be another major worry for Arteta.

The 28-year-old, who has been a pillar for the Gunners this season across his 24 Premier League appearances, limped off in the 75th minute of their shock 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Monday.

With the pre-match news that Kieran Tierney could be ruled out for the rest of the campaign and will undergo surgery on his knee, Arteta’s misery was compounded due to the loss of Partey, with Arsenal already limited in midfield.

“I don’t know, but he felt something in the same area that he got injured previously, so it’s a big concern,” the Gunners boss explained post-match.

“It’s what we have, it’s the numbers that we have. We’ve lost Kieran and we’ve lost Thomas now and that’s it. With the players that we have we will keep trying like we have since the start of the season, but we never had a big squad so we can’t find any excuses. Today we have to look at ourselves and I’m the first one because I repeat myself, it wasn’t good enough.”

He is a huge doubt for Arsenal’s next game against Brighton in the Premier League over the weekend.