MIKEL ARTETA revealed Thomas Partey will undergo an MRI scan after limping off during Arsenal’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United.



The Premier League leaders were knocked out of the competition as Nathan Ake sealed a 1-0 win for their closest title rivals. However, the Gunners suffered a huge scare as their controlling Ghanaian midfielder, 29, suffered a blow to his ribs during the opening period. Partey was taken off at the break and replaced by Albert Sambi Lokonga. And afterwards his manager admitted he did not want to “take any risks” with his star.

Arteta said: “He felt something and we didn’t want to take any risks, so he could not continue. He had some discomfort and it was getting worse and worse, so he could not continue. He wasn’t comfortable to continue. Obviously tomorrow, the day after he will have to have an MRI scan and see what he has.”

Arteta will now face a troubled wait to discover the level of the damage, especially with fellow midfielder Mohamed Elneny also out with a knee problem. He have been trying to bring in reinforcements to bolster the middle of the park this transfer window and have had an opening bid rejected by Brighton for Moises Caicedo.

The Ecuadorian World Cup ace, 21, has now begged the Seagulls via a shock social media post to leave him and leave with talks between the two clubs set to continue.

When he (Ateta) was asked about a move for Caicedo, he added: “You know that I am not going to comment on any players until anything is done, and I will continue like that. As I said before, we have been pretty active in the market. We have some basic needs and if something else is available, the club is willing to try to do it when it is sensible and hopefully it’s a player that can improve our squad.”