Former Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas believes Arsenal cannot rely on the injury-prone Thomas Partey and has urged the club to sign another midfielder in January.
Partey joined Arsenal from Atletico Madrid in 2020 for 50 million euros, but the midfielder has been plagued by injuries since his arrival.
The 29-year-old Ghana international has only been fit and available for five of their eight Premier League games.
He was fit for 24 Premier League games last season and it was the same in 2020/21, when he made 18 starts and six substitute appearances in his debut season.
When he is injured, Arsenal suffer greatly. A typical example is last season when they missed out on the Champions League because the midfielder suffered an injury near the end.
“You can’t rely on him,” Jenas said of Partey on the Vibe with Five YouTube channel.
“If I was Edu that would be the first position I’m going for in January, or the summer [transfer window], because you can’t rely on him.
“He is very important and you see the difference when he’s in there but the minute this thing starts to crumble, that position, [Gabriel] Jesus, and you end up with [Eddie] Nketiah, Fabio Vieira, this is a different game we’re talking about.”
Arsenal signed Fabio Vieira from Porto in the summer to bolster their midfield, and there were strong rumours that they were close to signing Leicester City's Youri Tielemans.
Partey scored a stunning goal last Saturday to inspire Arsenal to beat Tottenham in the north London derby.