Arsenal’s Partey left out of Ghana squad for friendly against Uganda

Newly appointed Ghana head coach Otto Addo has not invited Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey for the international friendlies against Uganda and Nigeria.

Addo is currently serving as the talent coach at German Bundesliga outfit Borussia Dortmund but will leave the role permanently in the summer.

He will officially take over as the new manager of the Black Stars on a 34-month contract with an option to extend the deal for a further 24 months.

The Ghanian will however join the four-time AFCON champions for the March international window, and he has already named his squad with a couple of key players missing out.

Besides Partey, Spanish side Athletic Club Bilbao’s Inaki Williams, and American outfit LA Galaxy’s Joseph Painstil were notably not summoned to Otto’s squad.

It is reported that Partey individually requested to be excused to try and gain full fitness at his club due to recent injury struggles.

The 30-year-old has struggled with injury setbacks since October 2023, and since his full return in March, he has been used as an Arsenal substitute twice.

Partey was introduced in the 65th minute for Jorginho in a 6-0 win over Sheffield United and deep in stoppage time of the Gunners’ 2–1 win over Brentford for Martin Odegaard.

It is the same reason for Williams’ missout while Painstil has just moved to the Major League Soccer (MLS), and travel documents processing leaves him out as well.

The forever under fire Ayew brothers, captain Andre and Jordan are both involved, together with West Ham United star Mohammed Kudus.

Ghana will play West African rivals Nigeria first on Friday, March 22, before playing the Uganda Cranes on the 26th.

As Ghana and Nigeria face off on Friday, Paul Joseph Put’s Cranes will battle Comoros.

It should be noted that all these friendlies will take place in Marrakech, Morocco.