Thomas Partey was forced off in Arsenal’s pre-season clash with Chelsea and is set for a scan on Monday but Mikel Arteta claims the early signs are not positive
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Mikel Arteta has issued a worrying injury update regarding Thomas Partey after seeing him hobble off in a pre-season friendly.
The Gunners lost 2-1 to London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates, but the greatest concern will be the fitness of their midfielder.
Partey has endured a stop start career at Arsenal having joined from Atletico Madrid last summer.
He was hampered by injuries last season and looks like he could be again facing time on the sidelines.
Arteta has held discussions with those at the club and, even at this early stage, the signs aren’t promising ahead of a scan.
He said: “I just had a talk with the doc. He’ll have a scan tomorrow. At the moment it’s not looking good.”
The Gunners boss also admitted that defender Gabriel is facing a race against time to make the season opener against Brentford in 12 days time.
When quizzed he said it looked “unlikely” that the Brazilian would feature.
Arteta however was handed a boost after Ben White made his debut, following a £50m move from Brighton.
The young centre-half has enjoyed a rapid rise but is highly-rated and the Arsenal boss claims he is the type of player they have needed “for years now”.
The Gunners also look set to keep Granit Xhaka despite heavy interest from Roma and the player himself keen on a move away.
Arteta has previously had to convince the Swiss star to stay put but he was looking to join Jose Mourinho in Italy.
He has now said that Xhaka is “going to stay with us”.
Arsenal could also add Tammy Abraham in the coming weeks as his Chelsea future remains in doubt.
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A loan move is preferable but the Blues would rather offload him permanently, although their £40m price tag has put off the likes of Aston Villa and West Ham.
Arteta also wants to bring in a playmaker before the transfer window slams shut and retains an interest in Martin Odegaard, who spent last season on loan in west London.
His Real Madrid contract includes a hefty release clause however which could hamper Arsenal’s hopes.
Leicester’s James Maddison is also on the club’s radar.
