Arsenal-Sheffield: Partey Makes Return After 4 Months Absence
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey featured 25 minutes in the Gunner’s commanding win over Sheffield United at Bramall on Monday night after an injury ruled him out for months.
The Black Stars player who had been missing in action for four months finally made the list for their 27th premier league game as a substitute coming on in the 65th minute to replace Italian defensive midfielder Jorge Luiz Frello Filho.
He got 85.3% of his 34 passes accurately with four of five long passes accurately delivered and lost possession five times.
Arsenal found the back of the net five times in the first half thanks to Martin Odegaard, Jayden Bogle, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Declan Rice. Ben White made it six after recess to wrap up their victory over Blades.
The Gunners are third with 61 points and a goal difference of 45.
In a post-match press conference, head coach Mikel Arteta spoke about the return of Partey who recently became a father.
“Thomas is available now to play a certain amount of minutes and he needs to build that… It was his first minutes after four months.”
The once indispensable Arsenal player now has to “earn” play time like everybody, according to the coach.
Partey suffered a muscle injury that had ruled him out since October 2023. He suffered a setback in recovery creating doubt about his return to the pitch in the shortest possible time.
