Midfielder suspended for first leg of Champions League semi-final after yellow card against Real Madrid
Partey was booked late on against Real Madrid and has been hit with a one-game ban
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Thomas Partey will miss the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain due to suspension.
Partey was booked in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Real Madrid after pushing Dani Ceballos over when play had been halted.
The yellow card was the third Partey has received in the Champions League this season and he will now serve a one-match ban.
It leaves Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta with a selection headache for the first leg at home to PSG on April 29.
Here, Standard Sport looks at three ways the Gunners could line up without Partey…
Shift Rice to the base of midfield
This seems the most likely option.
Rice has excelled as a No8 this season, scoring seven goals and claiming nine assists, but he has plenty of experience playing at the base of midfield.
Declan Rice was named man-of-the-match after an outstanding display as Arsenal beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabeu
The England star offers more athleticism and physicality than Jorginho, who is also out injured at the moment, and that could be key against a young, dynamic PSG side.
Mikel Merino, who has been playing as a striker, would have to drop into midfield unless Arteta trusted someone like Oleksandr Zinchenko to start.
Moving Merino could mean Leandro Trossard starting as Arsenal’s striker.
The Belgian has filled in there recently and scored at Everton earlier this month while playing as a false nine.
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Possible line-up (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli
Bring Jorginho into the team
Assuming he can get fit in time, starting Jorginho would cause minimal disruption to the rest of the side.
