African players abroad Thomas Partey absent as Arsenal lose to Southampton

Ghanaian midfield general Thomas Partey was conspicuously absent when Arsenal lost 1-0 to Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

Partey missed the game due to an injury and his absence was felt at St Mary’s Stadium in the Premier League match.

Jan Bednarek’s strike on the 44 minutes earned Southampton maximum points.

On the other hand, this was Arsenal’s third consecutive loss that undermined their chances of playing UEFA Champions League football next season.

Southampton worked hard for the win with their goalkeeper Ben Forster having to be at his best to deny Martinelli and Saka.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had before the game rued the absence of Partey saying: “It’s not looking very positive for his availability this season, but we’ll have to wait and see because he’s trying to get back as quickly as possible, but at the moment we are not very optimistic about it.”

The loss saw Arsenal slip to sixth place on 54 points whereas Southampton occupy 12th slot on 39 points.

The Gunners had before Saturday’s game lost to Brighton and Hove plus Crystal Palace.


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