Thomas Partey is frustrated - Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta believes Thomas Partey is frustrated following his latest injury.

The Ghana midfielder picked up an injury against Aston Villa last weekend in a 1-0 defeat to the Gunners at Villa Park.

Partey, since joining Arsenal at the start of the season, has struggled for consistency this season largely due to injuries.

“He was devastated, we were all devastated because we know the importance of Thomas and we haven’t had him since we signed him, we haven’t had him in three games consecutively,” Mikel Arteta told the club website.

“I think he has only played 90 minutes once since he has come back from injury, so it is a big blow for us but he is adapting to the league, he has been very unlucky as well.

“He is very frustrated because he is a very competitive guy who wants to feel important and be important for the team and at the moment the injuries are restricting a lot of game time for him.

“He felt something during the game [at Villa Park] and we didn’t think it was too bad but after the scan looked a little bit worse. He won’t be available to play against Leeds and we will see how it evolves in the next two days but it is a muscular issue,” he added.

The 27-year-old has made just 11 Premier League appearances for Arsenal this season, starting only 39% of the games so far.

Partey joined Arsenal in September 2020 for £45 million from Atletico Madrid.