1 week Ago By Ben Knapton, SportsMole
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is sweating over the fitness of key midfielder Thomas Partey ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. The Ghana midfielder scored the opening goal in the weekend's 1-1 draw with Brentford in the Premier League but was then forced off shortly afterwards with a knock of unspecified severity. Partey seems to have avoided a serious problem, but he will need a once-over alongside Jorginho and Ben White, the former of whom suffered a blow to the ribs against the Bees after White was ruled out before kickoff.
Partey was fielded as an emergency right-back at the weekend, but Jurrien Timber will no doubt come back into the fray at the Bernabeu, where Myles Lewis-Skelly will attempt to nullify Rodrygo yet again. As Riccardo Calafiori's knee is still giving him grief, Jakub Kiwior - hailed for his defensive display alongside William Saliba last week - has earned the right to continue in front of David Raya. Further forward, Partey will no doubt anchor the midfield if fit enough, while Martin Odegaard and first-leg hero Declan Rice - the only player to score two free kicks in a single UCL knockout game - are shoo-ins.
Following Rice's sensational set-pieces, Mikel Merino bagged his fourth career goal against Real Madrid - against no side does he boast more - and the Spaniard is set to continue up top with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, unless he is required in midfield. Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Merino, Martinelli This article first appeared on SportsMole and was syndicated with permission..
