Arsenal had a disappointing outing against London rivals Crystal Palace last night in the Premier League as their recent good run came to an end but the return of Ghanaian international Thomas Partey to the Arsenal team was one of the few positives for the Gunners on the night. Thomas Partey has had some troubles with staying fit for the Gunners and fans would be hoping that his recent fitness issues are behind him after his second half introduction to the Palace game. He came on in place of Dani Ceballos for the final 21 minutes of the game as Arsenal and Crystal Palace failed to score a goal in their London Derby clash.
Arsenal made the headlines on the final day of last summer’s transfer window when they paid €50m (£45m) to sign Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league. The Spanish La Liga leaders were not willing to let Thomas Partey leave the club but they had no choice after Arsenal activated his release clause.
He showed his quality for Arsenal a few weeks later by producing an excellent display in the away league win over current Premier League table toppers Manchester United. Thomas Partey was then named the man-of-the-match for his display. He propelled the Gunners to their first away victory over Manchester United in almost 15 years.
Arsenal fans were left impressed with his showing and had hoped that the Black Stars of Ghana player will build on his performance against the Red Devils but they were disappointed after he picked up a thigh injury in the next league game.Partey got injured in the first half of the next match, an home clash with Aston Villa and would return briefly to the pitch three weeks later in the North London Derby at Tottenham Hotspur in the league. He suffered a different thigh injury in the first half of that game.