- Zinchenko and White clashed at full-time after Arsenal beat Nottingham Forest
- Arteta played down the incident as the Gunners prepare to welcome Liverpool
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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has joked Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White have been ‘living together and sharing wives’ after their on pitch row against Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners earned a vital 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, but at the final whistle there was a surprising exchange of words between Zinchenko and White.
Both players were seemingly incensed despite the victory.
Arteta had praised the players for their passion in the aftermath of the incident and made light of the situation when questioned about White and Zinchenko ahead of their crunch clash with Liverpool.
‘They’ve been in the same house the past few days sharing wives and everything,’ Arteta said.
Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko were caught up in a furious bust-up after the final whistle on Tuesday night
Mikel Arteta was seen speaking to both Arsenal stars following the post-match bust-up
Mikel Arteta made light of the row between Zinchenko and White at his press conference
‘It’s fine they’re living together now. They’re best mates.
‘You don’t argue with someone if you don’t have a great relationship.
‘That happens because you have the trust and chemistry with somebody to react the way they did.’
Arsenal host Liverpool on Sunday in a key match in the title race, with Arteta’s side five points behind the Premier League leaders.
The Gunners will again by without midfielder Thomas Partey through injury.
Partey returned to training earlier this week after a three month absence, but Arteta confirmed the Ghanaian midfielder has suffered a setback in his recovery.
‘He’s not going to be available in the squad, we don’t know if it’s a few days or weeks,’ Arteta said.
Arteta confirmed midfielder Thomas Partey has suffered a setback in his recovery from injury
‘He felt something in a very similar area and he wasn’t able to train the last few days.
‘It is a big concern because he’s such an important player for us and then we lost him for a while. Now it’s been a long time without him.
‘They’ve been different kinds of injuries. Not everything is bad luck but there are a lot of things that are difficult to control.
‘The player has an history where he’s issues in the past so we have to protect him.’
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