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Arsenal could have key duo available to face Man City this weekend

By on October 15, 2020

kieran tierney arsenal

Mikel Arteta hopes Kieran Tierney will be available to face Manchester City on Saturday while Thomas Partey is pushing to make his Arsenal debut.

Tierney has been forced to isolate in Scotland after being in ‘close contact’ with Stuart Armstrong – who later tested positive for Covid – while the pair played computer games in a hotel room during the international break.

The Arsenal full-back released a statement insisting he adhered to social distancing ruled as he was over 2 meters away from Armstrong at all times and has tested negative himself so there is no need for him to isolate.

Arsenal have been in discussions with the Scottish Government to try and get Tierney back to London via a private car so he can be in contention for this weekend’s trip to Manchester City. So far the plea has fallen on deaf ears but Arteta said further talks took place today and they haven’t given up hope of Tierney being available on Saturday.

Speaking at his press conference earlier today, when asked about Tierney being in contention, Goal quote Arteta as saying:

“I hope so. This is getting very complicated when you are sending players abroad and obviously you lose control.

“Some authorities have different regulations to the actual ones in the Premier League. We are still having some discussions with the authorities and hopefully we will know more this afternoon.”

It’s a farcical situation, especially considering Armstrong is allowed to play for Southampton but Tierney isn’t available for Arsenal. Plus, no Liverpool players had to miss any games despite 3 of their team-mates testing positive recently.

Let’s hope common sense prevails and Tierney is allowed to return to London to play for Arsenal this weekend. In a possible double boost, Arteta is also hoping to hand a debut to new signing Thomas Partey against City.

Partey arrived at London Colney on Tuesday having sealed his move from Atletico Madrid last Monday and completed his first full training session with his new team mates today.

Arteta says the midfielder is fit and desperate to play this weekend but he will be assessed at training before a final decision is made over his involvement at the Etihad.

On Partey, Goal quote Arteta as saying:

“He is getting familiar with everything around the club, today [Thursday] he will have his first session, so everything has to come really quickly for him. He is fit, he is very willing to start playing, so we will how he goes in the next few days.”

Partey is going to be a huge addition to the team but it might be a little early to throw him straight into action this weekend. Arteta plays a strict system and he needs to learn what’s expected of him. It will be difficult to teach him his role in just two training sessions.

Away to Man City is one of the toughest games of the season and we’ll need all 11 players to know exactly what job they need to do so I’d be surprised if Partey started on Saturday. A place on the bench is probably the best he can realistically hope for.

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