Thomas Partey has been one of Arsenal’s best players so far. His incredible technical abilities didn’t leave Arteta and Edu Gasper with much of a choice but to trigger his release clause while he was at Atletico Madrid on the transfer deadline day, despite the Spanish club’s reluctance to negotiate a deal earlier.
Partey quickly adapted to his new team, seamlessly integrating despite limited preseason experience with his teammates. The Ghanaian international immediately left his mark by establishing a robust presence in the number 6 position, effectively safeguarding the defense through well-timed tackles, interceptions, and recoveries.
His intelligence, positioning, and knack for sniffing out opposition threats made him a menace and a strong wall at the base of the midfield. Despite playing the defensive midfield position, he has shown an incredible ability to progress the ball out of defense swiftly, manoeuvring through all sorts of pressing and aggressive blocks. He could play pinpoint vertical passes, line-breaking passes to beat the opposition midblock or lay the ball forward to enhance a quick attacking transition.
All his qualities and importance to the team have unfortunately been continually disrupted by his inability to stay fit. His injury record so far has made him miss 45 games for Arsenal and his national team since joining the club in the summer of 2020. That’s a whopping 284 days missed through injury.
So far this season, Partey has only made four league appearances, coupled with the Community Shield match against Manchester City. He made his last appearance against Manchester City in the league, coming on as a substitute with 15 minutes left, and he made an immediate impact, playing a delightful long pass to Tomiyasu, which eventually led to Arsenal’s winning goal against the league champions.
He was on the bench all through the match against Chelsea, which ended in a 2–2 draw thanks to the fantastic equalizer by Trossard. Despite what seems like a tough decision from Mikel Arteta to rest the Ghanian midfielder in the London derby, Thomas, unfortunately, missed the Champions League match against the experienced Sevilla team.
This has undoubtedly raised several concerns and questions among the fans. He’s due to undergo more tests in the coming days.
In Mikel Arteta’s pre-match interview yesterday, he stated, “He (Thomas Partey has got a muscle injury and we expect him to be out for a few weeks. We don’t really know the extent of it still and he has more tests today. But he picked up that injury in training, in the last training session with the last kick of the ball before Sevilla. It’s very unfortunate.
“I don’t think (it was because he went away with Ghana). He was coming from a period of absence, and he needed minutes and he played with the national team. We try to always be in touch with them.
“And then we have two games with Chelsea and Sevilla, very close, and we decided not to load him in the first game to play him in Sevilla, and then that happened in training.”
“Sometimes it is difficult, you try to prevent it. If he had got injured against Chelsea or against City, we would have said we rushed him. But then you rest him and he gets injured. It is things that happen in football.”
However, Declan Rice and the experienced Jorginho have stepped in to fill his role graciously. Both players have shown enough character, ability, and guile to replace the Ghanaian midfielder in what seems to be a picture of a future without Thomas Partey if the club decides to cut ties with the player because of his lack of availability.
