Arsenal given fresh injury concern following friendly defeat to Chelsea
Arsenal have been hit with a potential injury blow after midfielder Thomas Partey was left needing a scan following the pre-season friendly defeat to Chelsea on Sunday.
The Gunners were beaten 2-1 on home soil by their London rivals, with Tammy Abraham grabbing the winner shortly after Granit Xhaka had cancelled out Kai Havertz's opener.
Partey started the contest in the middle of the park but lasted just 40 minutes as he was substituted by teammate Xhaka.
He had already tried to shake off the ankle problem but to no avail and is now due to be assessed properly on Monday, with fears he could miss the season opener against Brentford on August 13.
“I just had a talk with the doc. He [Partey] is going to have a scan tomorrow,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said after the match.
“At the moment it is not looking good because he was in pain and he could not continue, which for Thomas is unusual.”
Arsenal have just one remaining pre-season fixture to play – next Sunday's clash with Tottenham – before the Premier League campaign get up and running.
Losing Partey will be a bitter blow to Arteta's hopes of starting the new season off on the right foot.
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The £45million signing missed a good chunk of the action near the start of last season, but will remain hopeful of recovering in time.
Meanwhile Arteta has seemingly ended any speculation surrounding Xhaka's future by declaring that the Swiss star will be staying at Arsenal this summer.
Xhaka had been heavily linked with a switch to Jose Mourinho's Roma, with talks between both clubs taking place.
However, it appears the negotiations have failed to bear fruit, with a disagreement over the size of the fee believed to be the reason for the breakdown in talks.
"Granit is going to stay with us. He is a key member of our squad."
Should Partey's injury be serious it could tempt Arteta to dip into the market again for another midfield addition.
Youngster Albert Sambi Lokonga has arrived from Anderlecht but Arsenal had shown an interest in Wolves' Ruben Neves previously, while a fresh bid to bring back Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid has also been mooted.
To do so the Arsenal boss may have to offload some of his current crop first, with Alexandre Lacazette and Hector Bellerin both nearing the exit door.
Winger Reiss Nelson could also depart with former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira keen on taking him to Selhurst Park to join his rebuild at Crystal Palace.
Nelson has rarely featured under Arteta and looks to be surplus to requirements.
Arteta has also been dealt a blow in his pursuit of Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, with the Blades' boss Slavisa Jokanovic confident his No.1 and sought-after midfielder Sande Berge will be staying put.
"If you ask me if I will sell, no," Jokanovic told Yorkshire Live. "I will be hurt if they leave my team. I understand this possibility exists but I hope that will not happen.
"I am not worried, I am happy with them (Ramsdale and Berge) and I trust they will stay with me and I trust they can be happy working with me and their Sheffield United team-mates."
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