Thomas Partey travels with Arsenal squad for Rapid Vienna game with new signing set to make Europa League debut for club
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THOMAS PARTEY has traveled with the Arsenal squad for the Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna - and is now expected to make his full debut for the club.
The Gunners are on their way to Austria for Thursday night's tournament-opener - with the club seen boarding a plane at Luton Airport.
And Partey, 27, looks set to make his eagerly-anticipated full debut in the heart of midfield after being spotted boarding the plane.
The Ghanaian came off the bench in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester City to give fans a brief glimpse of his ability.
But it's likely Mikel Arteta starts him in Vienna for their first Europa League clash of the season.
After the City defeat, Arteta explained: “We will see how quickly we can make it with [Partey].
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"I think we have to respect that process and that timing for him because he only trained for a day really.
"There’s a lot of new information and different game models for him to understand, and we have to respect that.
“But I think when he came on he looked good.”
Elsewhere, Eddie Nketiah, Shkodran Mustafi and Sead Kolinasic were also spotted boarding the Vienna-bound jet.
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But one player who wasn't present - and won't be for the rest of the season - was Mesut Ozil.
The German playmaker was axed from both the Europa League and Premier League squads.
And he lashed out with an emotional statement, suggesting the Gunners have shown a 'lack of loyalty'.
The former Real Madrid man said: “Upon signing my contract in 2018, I pledged my loyalty and allegiance to the club that I love, Arsenal, and it saddens me that this has not been reciprocated.
“As I have just found out, loyalty is hard to come by nowadays.”