Former France and Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre has backed the club to buy a replacement for Thomas Partey in the January transfer window.
Partey has been struggling with his injury problems since joining the club back in 2020.
After managing to start only 18 games in his debut campaign in the Premier League, the midfielder missed out on playing a big chunk of matches last season as well owing to fitness issues.
The 29-year-old was due to start in Ghana’s pre-World Cup friendly with Brazil, but had to pull out of the line-up minutes before the game last Friday and Nicaragua clash on Tuesday in Spain.
“He is a big piece of the puzzle for Mikel Arteta,” Silvestre told Betting Expert. “Arsenal is showing they are stretched as soon as there is an injury to [Granit] Xhaka or Partey. They are short on bodies so it could be problematic this season.
“Partey is showing he is good on the ball. He has got that physicality that is needed in the middle part, he is making challenges. So if he doesn’t play, that is trouble for Arsenal.”
Partey has made four league appearances for Arsenal so far this campaign.
