Charles Watts says Thomas Partey unavailable for Arsenal v Manchester City

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Charles Watts has reported that Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey isn’t available for the Gunners against Manchester City.

On Wednesday afternoon, there were rumours doing the rounds on social media claiming Partey was out of contention for the big game.

Now, Goal.com’s Watts has taken to Twitter to corroborate the rumours.

“No Thomas Partey tonight,” he wrote. “Huge blow for Arsenal.”

With Partey unavailable, Arsenal January signing Jorginho is expected to come in for Mikel Arteta’s side.

“Big night for Jorginho,” added Watts.

Really bad news for Arsenal ahead of such a crucial game in the Premier League title race.

There was hope that the rumours about Partey’s fitness weren’t true, based on the fact the player trained on Tuesday.

Arsenal posted photos from their latest session at Colney and Partey featured.

However, with the same news now coming from Watts, it’s a huge blow.

At the time of writing, numerous outlets – such as The Mirror – also began reporting of Partey’s unavailability.

The Mirror claimed that a muscular injury was the reason the former Atletico Madrid man wouldn’t be playing.

The 29-year-old has started 18 of Arsenal’s 21 Premier League games so far this season.

He has been crucial in their rise to the top of the table, the Gunners hoping to lift their first title since 2004.

Pressure on Jorginho

However, Arsenal have often struggled when Partey isn’t playing.

The midfield powerhouse was taken off at half-time against City in their FA Cup fourth-round tie.

The Gunners subsequently lost, in part down to their lack of midfield dominance without Partey.

There’s now a lot of pressure on Jorginho’s shoulders.

That said, the Italy international has plenty of experience in high-pressure situations.

Let’s hope Jorginho steps up on Wednesday night and helps Arsenal to a positive result.