Partey had been absent for nearly a month due to a thigh injury before returning to the Gunners’ line-up against Spurs, but the midfielder but was forced off before the break.

Arteta said it was not a recurrence of the earlier injury, insisting that the Ghana international had not been rushed back too soon to face Tottenham.

“He got injured in the same area – nnot exactly the same spot, but similar as it was before,” Arteta told reporters ahead of Thursday’s Europa League match against Dundalk.

“We MRI [scanned] him. There was an injury there and he will miss the next few matches.

“He did incredibly well [in training before Tottenham] and he was very confident. We tested him three times and he had zero symptoms, but in football you have a lot of unpredictable actions.”

Arsenal, 15th in the Premier League, are set to play seven more matches across three competitions this month. 

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