Ray Parlour believes Thomas Partey should be chief among the key Arsenal players Mikel Arteta considers resting for tonight’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Manchester City.
The top two in the country are yet to face-off this season but have the chance to land a psychological blow when they meet at that Etihad Stadium this evening.
Arteta has already bolstered his squad this month by spending £50million on new signings Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior but admitted his pre-match press conference that he is short of options in central midfield.
The Gunners have rejected a loan offer from Monaco for Albert Sambi Lokonga earlier this week amid fears Mohamed Elneny could miss the rest of the season.
With that injury setback in mind, Arsenal’s reliance on Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka is likely to be exacerbated and Parlour believes Arteta should consider omitting the Ghana international this evening, especially given his checkered fitness record.
‘Man City have got more depth in their squad so whoever he rotates you know a quality player is going to come into that position,’ Parlour told talkSPORT.
‘I think Mikel Arteta will take it seriously but I do believe he will rest a couple of key players, like Partey.
‘It’s a difficult one because he didn’t envisage being in this position top of the league at this stage of the season.
‘He’s got to look at he Europa League starting soon as well. The league game is coming on February 15 which is a crunch game at the Emirates which is massive.
‘I’m not going to get carried away with the league. It was another great result last week against United.
‘Tonight it’s all about the team selection. But it’s a big game for both sides but I don’t think it will affect the league form too badly whoever goes out because you know there are going to be changes.
‘I think they’ll go there and put a performance in trying to get a result and Man City are a quality side so it’s a hard one to call.’
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