LONDON, England – Thomas Partey, who has been out of the lineup for our last four games, will be back in the middle for our lunchtime away game against Brentford. In one of three changes to the lineup for our final Premier League game, on the road against Manchester United, he is brought back in to take the place of Sambi Lokonga.

Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard, who were forced to withdraw due to calf issues, were replaced by Kieran Tierney and Fabio Vieira, respectively. 

Vieira makes his Premier League debut after impressing last week against FC Zurich in the Europa League. 

Granit Xhaka assumes the captain’s role now that Odegaard is unable to play, just as he did in that 2-1 victory in Switzerland.

Matt Smith, a midfielder, Lino Sousa, a fullback, and 15-year-old attacker Ethan Nwaneri, who would be our youngest first-team player ever if he plays, are the three potential debutants who are currently on the bench. 

Ivan Toney, who just received an England call-up, begins up front for the hosts, while Josh Dasilva, a former Gunners youth player, starts in midfield. 

Ramsdale, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Vieira, Martinelli, and Jesus are the players for Arsenal. Turner, Sousa, Tomiyasu, Holding, Smith, Nwaneri, Lokonga, Marquinhos, and Nketiah are available as substitutes.

Thomas Partey

Thomas Teye Partey, a Ghanaian professional football player who competes for both the Ghanaian national team and Premier League club Arsenal, was born on June 13, 1993. 

Partey started his professional career in 2013 at the Spanish club Atlético Madrid. He later went on loan to Mallorca and Almera before returning to Atlético in 2015, where he went on to win the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Super Cup in 2018. He transferred to Arsenal in 2020 for £45 million (€50 million), making him the most expensive Ghanaian player in history.

Partey, a Ghanaian international, has competed for his country in three Africa Cup of Nations (2017, 2019, and 2021). In addition to winning Ghana Player of the Year in both 2018 and 2019, he was chosen to the CAF Team of the Year in 2017.

Arsenal

Following the activation of Partey’s £45 million (€50 million) release clause with Atlético Madrid, Premier League club Arsenal confirmed on October 5, 2020, that he has signed a long-term contract with them. Nacho Monreal’s number 18 jersey from the previous campaign was given to him. Partey expressed his intention to assist Arsenal in getting “back where [they] belong” after signing with the club, citing his desire to take on “new challenges” as the driving force behind his decision. He also gave the transfer credit to manager Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu.

Partey made his Arsenal debut on October 17, 2020, replacing Granit Xhaka in a 0-1 league road loss to Manchester City. He made his debut for Arsenal in a 2-1 away victory over Rapid Wien in the UEFA Europa League five days later. He sustained a thigh injury on November 8 during a game against Aston Villa, forcing him to miss the remainder of the month’s fixtures.

On December 6 in the North London derby, he made a comeback but left with another injury at halftime as Arsenal fell to Tottenham Hotspur 2-0. In a 0-0 tie with Crystal Palace a month later, he made his next appearance off the bench. Partey scored his first goal for Arsenal in a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa on October 22, 2021. Partey was selected Arsenal’s player of the month for February 2022.

Oleksandr Zinchenko

Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Zinchenko, a professional footballer for Premier League side Arsenal and the Ukraine national team, was born on December 15, 1996 (Ukrainian: лександр oлодимирови ненко). 

Zinchenko started his professional career at Ufa of the Russian Premier League before moving on to Manchester City in 2016 for a reported £1.7 million. He began his career as an attacking midfielder, but under Pep Guardiola he finally switched to left back or wing back. Since then, he has helped the team win an FA Cup, four League Cups, and four Premier League championships. 

Zinchenko, a full member of the Ukrainian national team since 2015, represents his nation at UEFA Euro 2020.

Manchester City

2016–2019 

Zinchenko’s 2018 season at Manchester City 

Zinchenko joined Premier League team Manchester City on July 4, 2016, for an unknown sum that is thought to be approximately £1.7 million. Some were taken aback by the action. However, a Russian football scout called him a “genuine prospect,” and Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund was also keeping an eye on him. 

For the 2016–17 campaign, Zinchenko was loaned to Eredivisie team PSV on August 26. On October 1, he came on as a substitute in a 1-1 tie with SC Heerenveen.

Arsenal 

Zinchenko signed a long-term contract with Premier League team Arsenal on July 22, 2022, for a reported sum of £30 million, which may increase to £32 million in add-ons. He joined the team on August 5 and contributed his first club assist in a 2-0 Premier League victory away at Crystal Palace.

Martin Odegaard

Martin Odegaard (born on December 17, 1998) is a professional football player from Norway who plays as an offensive midfielder and captains both the Norway national team and Premier League club Arsenal.

The Tippeligaen record for the youngest goalscorer was set by degaard in 2014 when he started his senior club career at the age of 15 while playing for Strmsgodset. In 2015, he signed for Real Madrid in a transfer that cost an initial €4 million (Kr.35 million),[4] where he set the club record for the club’s youngest player. After receiving inconsistent playing time, degaard successively joined the La Liga club Real Sociedad, Eredivisie clubs Heerenveen and Vitesse, and Eredivisie club Heerenveen on loan between 2017 and 2019. With Real Sociedad, degaard won the Copa del Rey in 2019. After a second loan, he transferred to Arsenal in 2021 for an initial fee of £29 million (€35 million). In 2022, following a productive first full season with Arsenal, he was named the team’s captain.