Thomas Partey played for six minutes as a sub against Leicester City

EVERY game counts now for Arsenal after reaching the month of March still top of the table.

It has been a long time since the Gunners have been in such dizzy heights so far into the season, even if this term was unusually splintered by the winter World Cup in Qatar.

The crunch period means Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is desperate to keep his key players fit and available for a rush of games which may decided whether his team will have anything to show for their productive season

And one of those main men is midfielder Thomas Partey who has been struggling with a thigh injury. He was touch and go for the away trip to Leicester and the Gunners’ team of physios were not willing to risk him for a full 90 minutes.

Partey’s return has to be handled carefully after an injury-ravaged time at the club. When fully fit, he has proved why Arsenal had always been so keen to sign him from Atletico Madrid. He has, this season, formed a more rigid partnership with Granit Xhaka, even allowing his Swiss teammate to make more forward runs.

He was given six minutes at the King Power Stadium on Saturday after being brought onto the field by Arteta to help shore up a crucial 1-0 win.

But with  the ‘game in hand’ that Arsenal have been holding over City for several weeks coming up on Wednesday – home to Everton – Partey may now be asked to get his boots on from the start.

New Toffees manager Sean Dyche has added more grit to the struggling Merseyside team and they are only one of three teams to have beaten Arsenal in the Premier League this season, bullying the Gunners out of contention in a 1-0 success earlier this month.

Arteta said on Partey before the weekend: “He’s a really important player for us, who we missed in the last few games. Hopefully he can be available.”