Manchester United will face an Arsenal side on Sunday which will be lacking their Ghanaian midfield general, Thomas Partey.
The battle in midfield will no doubt play a deciding role in who leaves the Emirates tomorrow with the Premier League points.
For Manchester United, midfield has been their biggest issue all season however it seemed to have resurrected against Nottingham Forest last week.
Erik ten Hag would have been hoping to have new midfield signing Sofyan Amrabat available to him for the game, and will rue the still injured Mason Mount.
Arsenal will however now have to face one of their biggest rivals without a player who is so important to them.
Thomas Partey injured for United’s trip to the Emirates
Partey is one of Mikel Arteta’s most important players in midfield, and he will now be without him for a huge game given the Spanish boss considers him to be ‘fantastic‘.
This comes as the Ghana national team issued a statement revealing Partey is injured.
It read: “He sustained a groin injury during training on Thursday, August 31, 2023. He is currently unavailable as Club Doctors predict he’s likely to be out for a couple of weeks.”
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This will be a massive blow for Arteta who will now need to scramble to chose who will replace the midfielder.
How will United’s midfield look?
Due to injuries or not being eligible for the game, United’s midfield kind of picks itself.
Bruno Fernandes will obviously be playing in his usual number 10 role behind, hopefully Rasmus Hojlund up front.
Casemiro also picks himself as the club’s only eligible and fit option to play in defensive midfield.
The final position is a throw up between Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay to start against a Partey -less Arsenal.
In this case, we see the Scottish international as a better fit to play, given the fact Eriksen doesn’t suit playing deeper or as an eight against teams who will expect possession.