Partey ‘very frustrated’ by injury struggles at Arsenal – Arteta

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said Thomas Partey is ‘very frustrated’ by his struggles with injuries which have restricted him from being an 'important' player for the Gunners.

The Black Stars midfielder is expected to miss Sunday's Premier League fixture against Leeds United after he limped off with a hamstring complaint in Arsenal's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa last Saturday.

A few weeks after he joined the North London club on a permanent deal from Atletico Madrid, the 27-year-old was ruled out of action for almost a month in November and on his return to action against Tottenham Hotspur on December 6, he suffered another thigh injury which kept him out of the team until January.

He made his long-awaited return against Crystal Palace on January 14, however, Arteta is not certain about how long it will take Partey to recover from his latest set-back.

The Spanish coach stated that the club and Partey are both devastated by his injury problems as they await his best since his arrival from Madrid.

“He was devastated, we were all devastated because we know the importance of Thomas and we haven’t had him since we signed him, we haven’t had him in three games consecutively,” Arteta told the club website.

“I think he has only played 90 minutes once since he has come back from injury, so it is a big blow for us but he is adapting to the league, he has been very unlucky as well.

“He is very frustrated because he is a very competitive guy who wants to feel important and be important for the team and at the moment the injuries are restricting a lot of game time for him.

“He felt something during the game [at Villa Park] and we didn’t think it was too bad but after the scan looked a little bit worse. He won’t be available to play against Leeds and we will see how it evolves in the next two days but it is a muscular issue.”