Arsenal given boost as injured star named in national team's AFCON 2023 provisional squad

Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has been named in Ghana's provisional squad for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), despite being out of action for a considerable time due to injury.

This is as per Ghana's official X account (via Goal.com), where manager Chris Hughton's 55-man provisional list was uploaded earlier today.

Partey has been nursing a hamstring injury and has struggled with the same for the past couple of seasons. The injury has kept him out of action for Arsenal since October, with his last appearance coming in the Gunners' 1-0 win over Manchester City.

Since joining from Atletico Madrid for £50 million in 2020, Thomas Partey quickly established himself as a transformative player in Mikel Arteta's new-look squad. His presence in midfield allowed the Spaniard to move from a double-pivot to using the Ghanaian as a lone six, a role which he has made his own.

However, since the arrival of Declan Rice from West Ham United this summer, Partey has fallen down the pecking order. His injury layoff has only made things worse, with Rice's form making it near impossible to remove the Englishman from the starting XI.

Partey is expected to return to full fitness in the new year and could be in-line to make his fourth appearance in the AFCON for the Black Stars.

The tournament kicks off in Ivory Coast on January 13, with the Ghanaian squad set to be trimmed down to 27 by January 3. Should Partey make the cut for the 27-man shortlist, he could be out of action for Arsenal until mid-February.

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Four years of Mikel Arteta as Arsenal manager

Mikel Arteta left his role of assistant coach at Pep Guadiola's Manchester City in 2019 to become the head coach of Arsenal. Shortly after, Arteta was named the manager, gaining full control of first-team activities.

Since joining, the Spaniard has overseen a remarkable turnaround in the club's fortunes both on and off the pitch.

A firm believer of reviving Arsenal's culture, Arteta made wholesale changes in the team, starting with his bold decision to strip Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang off the captaincy, before eventually freezing him out of his plans.

Along with sporting director Edu Gaspar, Arteta brought in several notable players, including former City pair Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko. He also worked on the growth of existing prospects Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

In his third season with the club, the Gunners came extremely close to winning the Premier League. Having led the table for majority of the season, injuries to William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the run-in derailed Arsenal's hopes of becoming champions.

This season, Arteta's men are currently leading the pack with 39 points from their 17 games and are just one point ahead of Liverpool and Aston Villa, both on 38.

The Gunners will travel to Liverpool to face the Reds at Anfield on December 23 in what promises to be a blockbuster clash.