Injury expert and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery has given his verdict on the current injury sustained by Arsenal's Thomas Partey. 

The Lowdown: FA Cup knock

Partey suffered an injury for Mikel Arteta's side against fellow Premier League club Manchester City in the FA Cup. Indeed, he was taken off in the 45th minute and replaced by Albert Sambi Lokonga.

The Ghanaian has been a mainstay in the Gunners midfield, playing 16 league fixtures and starting all of those games for the north London outfit.

This season joining from Atletico Madrid in October 2020 for £45 million.

The Latest: Question marks

Dinnery claimed it's hard to know for certain about the status of Partey, if he's available he could end up wearing some form of protective clothing on his ribs when speaking on Premier FPL Injuries.

He stated: "In midfield Thomas Partey, this is a big question mark. That was a rib injury, he'll need to come through a sole training session on Friday or at least take part in a full contract session.

"There is a possibility that he could wear some kind of protective shield for that rib. Just given the nature of that problem. and obviously, he needs to be able to be comfortable and breathe.

"It's a difficult one, so it's going to be a good balance between protecting that area and for him to be able to slowly function and move around the field. So it remains to be seen the big question marks here with that one."

The Verdict: Gunners have depth

We believe that if Partey is ruled out for Arsenal's clash with Everton, then Arteta does have a sufficient backup option in midfield.

The Gunners signed Jorginho from Chelsea on deadline day for a fee of £12 million, the Italian signed an 18-month contract with Arsenal.

In our view, the 31-year-old will add experience to Arsenal's ranks, due to the fact he's played in the Premier League for a number of seasons as well as top European competitions, which include the Champions League and Europa League.

However, if it's the choice between Partey and the ex-Chelsea man to start, Arsenal's number five gets the edge for us.

Glenn Murray heaped praise on the Ghanaian for his performance against Nottingham Forest when speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live (via GhanaWeb.com), he claimed 'everything' that Arsenal did came 'through' the work of Partey.

In our view, the fact that the 29-year-old is in an ongoing who's the better player debate with a multi-time Champions League winner in Manchester United's Casemiro, says all you need to know about the level of his ability.