Arsenal news: Alex Howell on Thomas Partey

The biggest challenge for Mikel Arteta coming into Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris St-Germain was how he was going to set up in the absence of suspended midfielder Thomas Partey.

With the injuries Arsenal have and Mikel Merino playing as a central striker in recent weeks, Partey’s absence caused Arteta to shuffle his team around.

Merino dropped into his natural midfield position, Declan Rice moved deeper to a number six role and away from the number eight role in which he produced two player-of-the-match performances against Real Madrid. Leandro Trossard came in as striker.

PSG were dominant from the start and had 75% possession in the opening 15 minutes.

Ousmane Dembele so often drifted into the space between Arsenal’s backline and their midfield, and PSG scored the opening goal when he made that movement.

The question Arteta will be asking is – if Partey had been in the team, would he have been able to stop Dembele receiving the ball before giving PSG the lead?

Partey has been in excellent form in recent weeks and will be crucial to the Gunners next week if they are to overturn the defeat and progress to the final.

Read Alex’s full analysis here