Thomas Partey has dropped a team news hint ahead of Arsenal’s clash against Nottingham Forest. The Gunners will be eager to narrow Liverpool’s lead in the Premier League title race when they face Nuno Espirito Santo’s side at the City Ground on Wednesday night.
Arsenal head into the tie off the back of a disappointing defeat to West Ham. Jarrod Bowen fired the Hammers to a 1-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, ending the North Londoners’ 15-game unbeaten streak.
As for Forest, they’ve lost each of their last two matches in the English top-flight. Newcastle United stormed past Santo’s side on Sunday, with Alexander Isak netting a first-half brace to clinch three crucial points in the race for top-four.
Nevertheless, Partey has posted a pre-match graphic preview of the Forest fixture to his Instagram story. Historically, this suggests that he’ll be involved in some capacity. Jurrien Timber and Jorginho have done the same, hinting that they too will start at the City Ground.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the heavyweight clash, Arteta was quizzed on the title race. The Arsenal boss said: “It was a very disappointing weekend. In the previous 15 games we had won 10 and drawn five, exactly the same as Liverpool, with exactly the same goal difference, which is +23.
“So we’ve been extremely consistent over the past three and a half months, considering everything we have been through. We have generated that momentum, and it was that weekend where we had to do what we had to do again.
“Nothing different to the previous 15, and we got the defeat and on top of that, [Liverpool] win. When you are trying to build that momentum, and we put so much into it, especially with the circumstances that we have, it was a very hard one to take.
“The reality is there are so many games to play, and you have to get back to it. You have to have the levels and the consistency and the hunger to go again, and that’s what we are going to do on Wednesday.”
Then, on Mikel Merino, who led the frontline against West Ham following his brace against Leicester City, Arteta said: “Yes – in relation to the opposition and the options we have, and then what the team generates as well.
“Attacking players depend a lot on what the team is generating, the chemistry, the fluidity, the areas we are hitting, and how we interact with each other. It worked really against Leicester, but the other day there were a lot of things missing.”
With that being said, Arteta will be relying on the likes of Partey and Timber to lead Arsenal to victory. While numerous players have posted pre-match previews of the Forest game to their Instagram stories, it does not necessarily mean they will definitely start or, at the very least, play.
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