Thomas Partey pleads not guilty to raping two women while at Arsenal

The midfielder, 32, arrived at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday accused of five counts of rape against the two alleged victims, as well as a charge of sexual assault against a third woman.

His latest court appearance came after he featured as a substitute for his Spanish side's fixture against Tottenham in London on Tuesday.

During the short hearing, Partey spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and his not guilty pleas.

The alleged offences took place between 2021 and 2022 when he played for Arsenal.

The Ghanaian faces trial under a High Court judge at the same court on November 2 next year.

Read more: Thomas Partey signs for Villarreal while on bail for multiple rape charges

Judge Christopher Hehir granted Partey bail on the same conditions he received at a previous hearing.

This means that the footballer cannot contact any of the three women and must notify police of any permanent changes of address or international travel.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge told Partey: "Your trial will take place at this court on November 2 of next year, 2026.

"I appreciate that is quite a long way in advance. As you may appreciate the crown courts have a huge backlog of work which means that trials do take a long time to come on.

"Because you have bail effectively you are sitting behind a queue of people in prison who are waiting to be tried."