Thomas Partey: Will ex-Arsenal star play against Spurs in the Champions League tonight ahead of court appearance tomorrow

The 32-year-old midfielder, released by Arsenal in the summer, is scheduled to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, September 17, for a plea hearing after being charged with rape and sexual assault.

It will come hours after his new club, Villareal, face off against Spurs in their first match of the Champions League group stage.

Partey faces five counts of rape involving two women and one count of sexual assault involving a third woman, relating to incidents alleged to have taken place between 2021 and 2022. He denies all charges and was granted conditional bail.

The Ghana international last appeared in court on August 5. Two days later, he signed with the La Liga club.

Speaking ahead of the Champions League tie at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Villarreal manager Marcelino insisted Partey is ready to play.

He said: “I am totally convinced that he is mentally prepared and technically prepared to play tomorrow night. We are very happy Thomas is with us for his football capacity, football ability and his presence as a human.

“He is a great player with a lot of experience. He has played for a lot of top clubs. We know he has a great level.

“I think he will get back to a top level. I am very happy he is with us in the team.”

Thanks to the historic rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham, Marcelino is all too aware that Spurs fans will likely be quite hostile towards his player tonight - and has spoken with Partey about the situation.

“We're interpreting stuff about and talking about a player that could be totally innocent,” Marcelino added. “We're playing a game of football tomorrow where the important thing is football. This is where football was invented after all.

“He is with the group, he is available and tomorrow if nothing happens to a player in terms of fitness, he will be with all of us.”