When will Arsenal star Thomas Partey return for the Gunners after crashing out of AFCON

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said Thomas Partey will be involved in games as soon as possible, after Ghana crashed out of the AFCON.

The Black Stars managed just a point from a possible nine after losing to Morocco and Comoros, and drawing against Gabon.

This is the first time Ghana’s history that the Black Stars have left the AFCON without winning a game.

It was ultimately a disappointing campaign for Thomas, but has turned out to be a blessing for his side Arsenal side.

LondonWorld understands that the midfielder will headed straight back to London last night (Wednesday), however the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool will come too soon for him.

The 28-year-old should be ready for the weekend’s Premier League game against Burnley, as the Gunners go chasing Champions league football.

He will have to test negative for Covid before he can return.

What Mikel Arteta has said about Thomas returning from AFCON

Arsenal are only just recovering from a Covid bout that saw the North London derby against Tottenham get postponed due to lack of numbers.

Injuries and having key players out for the AFCON has also not helped the situation for Arteta, who was quite sympathetic to Thomas after a frustrating Cup of Nations.

He however revealed plans were being made to get the midfielder back and working as soon as possible.

The Spanish manager said: “Well, they [Ghana] played last night.

“It was a huge disappointment for Thomas obviously because he was representing his country and in this period he had big aims towards the competition.

“He’s out now so he will be fully focused and involved with Arsenal as soon as possible.”

How many games has Thomas missed for Arsenal since going to the AFCON

The Gunners will be delighted to have the Ghana midfielder back for several reasons, and given that he’s not missed a single league game it will be seen as a masterstroke of luck.

Arsenal have already had to deal with news that former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had Covid and heart complications at the AFCON.

There is still a chance that Nicolas Pépé and Mohamed Elneny could also make an earlier than expected return to the team, with both the Ivory Coast and Egypt yet to get going properly in the competition.

Arsenal’s season so far

The Gunners have managed to turn a difficult season into a promising one, with Arteta’s side still in with a chance to finish in the top four of the Premier League.

Arsenal will also hope that they are able see off the challenge of Liverpool in the second leg of the Carabao Cup, to earn a place at Wembley where they would face Chelsea.

From a position of despair, that saw the Gunners start the league season with three defeats and bottom of the league table, to still be in with a fighting chance of Champions League football is credit to the character of the team Arteta is trying to build.