Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has been dropped from the Ghana national team for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers following “confidential” discussions with head coach Otto Addo.
Partey’s exclusion came as a surprise, as he was notably absent from the Black Stars’ latest squad for matches against Angola and Niger later this month.
Speaking about the decision, Addo confirmed that the two had held private talks, but chose not to disclose the reasons behind the midfielder’s omission from the squad.
“I had a confidential talk with Thomas,” said Addo.
“I am a coach who always likes to protect the players, so I hope for your understanding.
“For me, the team is like family, I am not coming out with internal issues – but I made it quite clear to him. He wanted to come, he wanted to come, but I made it quite clear why he is not coming.
“Like I said, it’s confidential. It is difficult for me to mention all the things. It’s like that.
“We have to move on.
“Now, as you know, Thomas is not coming and it’s not a permanent thing, so we are always open for him to return.
“I hope that the things we talked that he will do better in that and that he will join the team maybe in the next window in March.
“I think he had a good perspective.
“We had a good talk and we are on good terms.”
Partey boasts 51 caps for Ghana since making his international debut in 2016.
The midfielder has also served as captain on numerous occasions, though that role will now be taken over by Leicester City’s Jordan Ayew for this month’s qualifiers.
Despite being left out of the national squad, Partey has enjoyed a strong start to the season.
The former Atlético Madrid star has already featured 15 times across all competitions.
In addition to his midfield duties, Partey has been called upon to fill in defensively due to an ongoing injury crisis at Arsenal.
Manager Mikel Arteta has frequently praised his versatility and contributions.
The Arsenal boss said: “I’ll need to make that assessment once I have more clarity about where he struggled, but I don’t have the impression he struggled much.
“Every time we have that situation with Thomas playing a different position, it’s because we don’t have another right-back at the moment.
“We’re always going to have that debate, and Thomas is fantastic.”
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