Should Arteta get this Partey started after return?

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has received a timely boost to his midfield options with the return to fitness of Thomas Partey.

The 30-year-old Ghanaian has not kicked a ball since October but is set to feature in the Gunners' squad for tonight's trip to basement boys Sheffield United.

Having featured on 40 occasions last term, Partey will be confident of reclaiming a spot in the starting XI quickly — though some of his team-mates may have other ideas.

We assess Arsenal's new midfield conundrum.

Plugging the gap

Arteta has had to get creative in dealing with the absence of Partey.

His most tried-and-tested method has been to deploy a three-man midfield of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz.

The £65million signing of Havertz from London rivals Chelsea was widely questioned and the German has not exactly set the world alight with statement performances.

What he does possess is outstanding versatility, making him able to occupy several positions across the midfield and forward areas.

When Havertz plays centrally, it generally sees England star Rice take up a deeper role to allow the former Blues ace and Odegaard to break forward at will.

The 24-year-old has found his killer touch recently, too.

A goal and assist against Newcastle last time out represented his seventh and eighth direct contributions this league campaign.

Alternative strategy

Havertz's versatility has also come in handy against high-pressing sides such as Liverpool and Newcastle, where Arteta reverted him to a centre forward berth.

On both occasions, that tweak paved the way for another former Blues ace to enter the fray in the shape of Jorginho.

A Euro 2020 winner with Italy, the 32-year-old has started just six Premier League this term but is usually reserved for the biggest occasions.

He provides a calm head and extra defensive steel next to Rice — while his significant big-game experience is a huge asset for a relatively youthful Gunners side.

Despite using Jorginho sparingly, Arteta has made no secret of how highly he values his metronomic No20.

After last month's 4-1 rout of Newcastle, Arteta said: "He's a top player. Especially when opponents have certain behaviours and set-ups.

"The way I imagined the game, he was going to have a big impact. When he's not playing consistently, credit to him because he was magnificent again."

Revert to type

Though both approaches have yielded success, Partey's return leaves Arteta with a tough decision to make.

Last season, the Black Stars international was one of the first names on the team sheet and Arsenal lost just four of the 33 league matches he featured in.

In fact, prior to a season-defining 4-1 defeat at Manchester City, the Gunners won 18 of the 25 top-flight games Partey started — losing just one.

The salivating prospect of pairing the former Atletico Madrid star sitting alongside Rice in a two-man pivot is clearly exciting Arteta.

He said: "I think that would be a very powerful midfield. I think they played the Community Shield together but other than that, no.

"A player like him who hasn't really played much with us, and the impact that he can have for the last three months can be really big."

Arteta is a loyal coach but also showed his ruthless streak when dropping popular stopper Aaron Ramsdale for David Raya earlier this season.

That decisive nature may well be on show again once Partey is fully up to speed.