Arsenal Football Club has taken extra precautions to ensure that influential midfielder Thomas Partey avoids injury while on international duty with Ghana.

The 29-year-old has been in outstanding form this season and represents an essential cog in Mikel Arteta’s winning machine.

However, Partey’s Arsenal career has been regularly undermined by fitness issues, and his absence earlier this season coincided with two of the Gunners’ three Premier League defeats.

Arsenal cannot afford to be without Partey over the next ten matches that will determine whether they can fend off Manchester City and secure their first Premier League title in 19 years. Therefore, club physio Simon Murphy has been dispatched to Africa to keep tabs on the midfielder’s fitness.

Ghana faces back-to-back fixtures against Angola in the coming week, and the presence of the Arsenal physio is expected to help monitor Partey’s condition.

Although Ghana’s new coach, Chris Hughton, is aware of Partey’s importance to Arsenal, he is unlikely to be influenced by Murphy’s presence around his squad.

Hughton explained that Partey’s role in his set-up is as a continuity player, and he is not someone who will dribble past multiple players. His role is important to what the team does, even if he doesn’t always stand out. Hughton further elaborated that Partey’s roles at both club and country are different but key.

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Overall, Arsenal is taking every possible step to ensure that their star midfielder returns from international duty unscathed, given his vital role in the team’s pursuit of the Premier League title.

Edited by: Ishmael Awudi