Mikel Arteta says he tried to signal Thomas Partey to fill the void left when Spurs counter broke.

The Ghanaian international walked off the pitch during a counter by the Gunners at the end of the Spurs half which left them exposed after Harry Kane combined with Son to score the hosts' second goal in injury time of the first half.

Although the Ghanaian international made efforts to resume his spot to stop the counter yet he could not affect the play with his run and had to give up.

Partey missed the Gunners draw with Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers loss after being forced off in the Gunners 3-0 loss to Aston Villa. Speaking to Arteta on the player’s decision to leave the field when the ball was still in play, the manager told the 27-year-old was in pain and could not stand the chase.

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“I haven't seen the action repeated. But it is an injury and it is in the same area, unfortunately,” he said.

“We don't know how bad it is. I was trying to push him but I don't think he realised the gravity of the situation when he left his position but that was probably because he was in a lot of pain. It's nothing we can do at the moment to resolve that.

Asked whether he was frustrated with Thomas or if it's hard to criticize, he said, “It was too quick.

“We were through and I think it was a four against three situations for us to play the final ball and we were through. Suddenly, they are coming to attack us and Thomas is walking to me and I was trying to push him. I haven't spoken to him so I don't know exactly how it happened or if he felt something really serious. I will look at it and we will talk about it.