When Arsenal bought Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid in 2020, the Ghanain came with an impeccable reputation and an injury-free record, and was fully expected to come straight in and boss our midfield straight from the off.
But after leaving Madrid, due to the Covid problems he went straight off to internationals and then straight back into the Premier league. It is little surprise he came down with injury problems which have never really left him. Last season, he only managed 24 appearances for the Gunners, and he had just reached that total again before succumbing to yet another season-ending injury.
Thomas he has been one of our best players since Christmas and Mikel Arteta has been speaking about how much he has to change his tactical setup without his midfield general, and how important Partey is to the team as a whole. ‘The stats are there and they are unquestionable,’ Arteta told the Daily Mail.
‘The win rate when Thomas is there is higher. It is something that is not good for us because in the last two seasons he has not been there as much as we want.’
‘We need him to play in that role on his own, with the quality he brings and the experience that he brings. And the fact he brings things that are unique that we want.
‘Then we can accommodate players in other positions that for them are more relevant and can determine games in the way that we can.
‘Otherwise we have to consider and improve with the players we have by using them in a different way, changing formation and finding ways to compensate,’
But the fact is that we simply have to find ways to win without Thomas in the side until he returns, which will probably not be until next season, but Arteta has to balance the risk of bringing him back too early once again, no matter how much the player is keen to be involved. The boss continued: ‘He has been out injured and sometimes he pushes too far in order to play and he gets injured again. He is willing to help again to play this season.
‘We don’t know if that is going to be possible, but for sure it won’t be because of lack of intention from him,’
So now we know how important Arteta thinks Thomas is to his side, and if you can imagine having a fit Partey for the whole of next season, plus a couple of high profile super-signings, how much more we could improve on this season’s pickings?
Sam P
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