Thomas Partey has opened up on the raft of injury problems that have disrupted his Arsenal career to date.
The 29-year-old scored in Arsenal’s thrilling 3-2 comeback win over Bournemouth at the weekend, which kept the Gunners’ lead at the top of the Premier League table at five points.
The Gunners were trailing 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium at one stage, before goals from Partey, Benjamin White and a dramatic stoppage-time winner from Reiss Nelson turned the tide in the favour of Mikel Arteta’s side.
Partey’s presence in central midfield has been crucial to Arsenal’s success, with the Ghanaian forming a solid partnership with both Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard.
But his on-field performances have been disrupted by seven different periods of injury, which have caused Partey to miss 39 games since arriving in north London. In contrast, he missed just seven games in five years while playing for former club Atletico Madrid.
“Well, I think it’s adaption. If you go from a different league, normal things happen,” Partey explained to football.london when asked about his injury problems.
“I am working on everything, I am trying my best. I am trying to help the team any time I can. When I am ready and fit, I will be ready to help the team.”
Partey’s ongoing absences saw Arteta dip into the January transfer market to sign Jorginho from rivals Chelsea in a deal worth £12m, while the boss also reinforced options up front with the signing of Leandro Trossard and in defence; Jakub Kiwior arrived from Spezia for just shy of £20m.
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