Arsenal sweat on Thomas Partey fitness as Jorginho primed for debut against Everton

Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP3 February 2023

Arsenal will assess Thomas Partey ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Everton, with Jorginho primed to make his debut as deputy if required.

The Ghanaian is a doubt with a rib complaint after being forced off at half-time against Manchester City, but Arteta was keen to stress the damage was not serious. Emile Smith Rowe has been ruled out entirely.

He told reporters of Partey’s availability: "Let’s see, that one is still a doubt. Let’s see how he comes in today and if he’s able to train or not. We will make a decision on that.

"He’s not ruled out and it’s nothing very significant, but it was significant enough to get him out of the game which for Thomas is a bit unusual but hopefully he’ll be fine."

Deadline-day signing Jorginho could make his debut on Merseyside and Arteta believes the arrival from Chelsea will be a good fit for his young squad.

"We knew that in this market you have to adapt and be flexible and be ready for inconvenience," the Spaniard said.

"We had a big one with the latest news on Mo [Elneny]’s injury and we needed a player in that position. [Jorginho] is a player I have always admired, a great character and someone who is going to bring leadership quality and in that position he is going to help the team a lot.

"[I particularly like] his intelligence, his personality, his leadership skills and the way he understands our way of playing and the qualities he has to implement that in football matches – he is a player that will fit in really well with what we want to do."

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