Thomas Partey took part in Arsenal’s training session on Friday (Getty)
Thomas Partey is closing in on a return for Arsenal while Mikel Arteta has revealed that Gabriel Jesus has suffered a minor injury setback.
Partey has not featured for Arsenal since the 1-0 victory over Manchester City in October due to a thigh injury but returned to first-team training earlier this week.
On Friday, Arteta confirmed that Partey is ‘very close’ to finally returning ahead of his side’s Premier League clash with Newcastle United on Saturday evening.
And the Ghana international stepped up his preparations by taking part in the training session alongside his Arsenal teammates.
Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has missed Arsenal’s last three matches, was not pictured in the first-team training session on Friday.
Gabriel Jesus has missed Arsenal’s last four matches (Shutterstock)
Jesus was another player not pictured in Arsenal’s training session on the eve of their match against Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium.
And Arteta has revealed that the Brazil international suffered a small setback during his recovery from a knee injury.
‘We could not resolve it as quickly as we wanted and he had a small reaction in training again,’ Arteta said.
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‘We didn’t want to take any more risks because he has been out for quite a while and he is a player that we need at his best.
‘We decided to give him a few more days.’
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