Arteta provides Thomas Partey injury update ahead of Arsenal's clash with Aston Villa

 lost top spot in the Premier League table after a 3-1 defeat against

on Wednesday. Arteta’s side is in second place due to goal difference, but they have a game in hand.

missed the game against Man City due to injury, and Arteta was asked about his latest situation in his press conference on Friday.

He said:

“We have to assess him today again. He had some discomfort, a little muscle discomfort. We have to assess him this morning and see how he is.

“Emile is training today, if he’s fine he’ll be in the squad. Gabi is still not there.”

Arsenal’s new player Jorginho who joined the club from Chelsea in January replaced Partey in the starting eleven against City and Arteta said he is happy with his performance.

"He’s really good. He’s come in to the team and earned the respect of everybody. I think he had a really good game.”

Arteta also said his team showed they can beat Manchester City, but insisted they have to be more efficient.

“I’ve seen it with my eyes in two games. But the level of efficiency has to be extremely good in every ball to beat them at the end.

“We’re in that journey, we want to be there at the end. I repeat myself that the team is highly motivated. In case they didn’t see it I showed them yesterday. You have to give credit to a team when they beat you. But for sure when you analyse it again I think we lost it. The feeling I had on the pitch is in many situations we matched them, but in the boxes they were better than us."

Arsenal's manager also was asked why after the game, he said he had more belief in his players than before.

“That when it comes to a stage like it did the other day against a team that I know pretty well, and the players able to produce what we’re able to produce it gives me a lot of belief that we’re going in the right direction.

“They realised on the pitch and the players feel on the pitch, and when they’re coming against the best team this team has had in decades and how they played against them. So I sense a lot of belief. They were hugely disappointed not to get the result, but not that long ago we were looking at them and saying ‘we are so far’, now we’re closer, but we weren’t close enough because they’re much more efficient than us.”

Follow

for the