‘Don’t even try to play him on Sunday, unless you want Man City to disgrace you’: Kevin Campbell warned Arteta not to start £45m Arsenal player against Man City on Sunday to avoid His sack letter
Arsenal face Manchester City this weekend in what could well be a season-defining clash between two title-contenders.
Indeed, the winners of this game will be the early Premier League pace-setters, and this is the first chance either team has to make a real statement of intent.
The Gunners head into this game with a handful of selection headaches to unpack.
Who should start in goal? Who should replace Bukayo Saka if he is injured and who should play in the midfield are just three key questions.
Thomas Partey has been pictured back in training for Arsenal this week, so, of course, there have been questions around whether or not the Ghanaian should start on Sunday.
However, according to Kevin Campbell, speaking on the Highbury Squad YouTube channel, Arsenal shouldn’t risk Partey for this game and leave him to live to fight another day.
Partey shouldn’t play
Campbell spoke about the £45m man and why he shouldn’t play.
“Partey is back in training, do you play Partey against Manchester City?” Campbell was asked.
“No, you don’t, you don’t play him and I love Thomas, the general, I love him, but we don’t need to take the risk of rushing him back for that game, there will be many a game where we will need Thomas Partey in that midfield. Declan Rice is doing really well in that midfield, so I think it’s more of the same,” Campbell said.
Could get away with it
Not playing Partey in a game of this magnitude is a risk, but Arsenal may just be able to get away with it.
With Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri both out of this game, the midfield battle against Man City won’t be what it once was, and Arsenal could well get the better of them without Partey in the middle of the park.
It’s a long season, and risking an injury to a player like Partey this early on probably isn’t a wise move.
