Arsenal could look to bring in a new midfielder during the upcoming January transfer window.
That’s according to talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor, who was speaking to Football Insider when asked whether Thomas Partey’s injury issues could force the Gunners to sign a new midfielder.
Agbonlahor urges midfield signing
The former Aston Villa striker said: “Arsenal might look in January and think ‘You know what, we’re third in the league, we’re second in the league, we’ve got a really good chance this season of finishing in the top four’ and they will have to go out and get one. Their fans were very upset when the window closed and they didn’t get one.
“Thomas Partey is always going to be injured, he’s very injury prone. [Granit] Xhaka’s been outstanding, [Albert Sambi] Lokonga is still up and coming but they need one more.
“It was strange that they didn’t fill that position, especially when they know Thomas Partey is not going to play a lot of games this season because he’s always injured. They need to definitely get one in during the January window.”
Partey too unreliable
As Agbonlahor mentioned, Partey has missed a total of 36 games through injury since his arrival in north London just under two years ago.
To highlight his defensive importance to the team, in the three league matches that the Ghanaian has missed so far this term, Arsenal conceded five goals. In the four games in which he has featured, they’ve managed to keep three clean sheets.
With the 29-year-old recently making an early return to London from international duty with Ghana due to concerns over a knock to his knee that he picked up while away, this further shows how susceptible he is to incurring injury problems, which must be massively frustrating for Mikel Arteta.
If Partey’s injury situation doesn’t improve over the next few weeks and months, we feel that Arsenal technical director Edu must act quickly and do all that he can to bring in a suitable midfield option in January who can help to fill in for the Ghanaian when needed so that the Gunners don’t risk dropping out of the title race by being left short of options in the middle of the park.
