Injuries have forced Mikel Arteta to play Thomas Partey out of position at right back, but we finally got him back in Arsenal’s midfield against Crystal Palace, in a game where all we wanted was a win.
Rightfully, he was at fault for Palace’s Ismaila Sarr’s goal. However, apart from his wandering that led to the team conceding, he had a great performance in that 5-1 win.
In fact, how would you rate the Ghana international’s performance out of 10?
I’d give him a 7 (JA gave him a 6.5 rating) out of ten. He may not have been as defensively solid as we know he can be initially, but how many roles is Partey expected to play in midfield? He had to mark, track runners, give progressive passes to initiate attacks, and drop in between the center backs to dictate play. Kai Havertz, who was supposed to help him out, didn’t do much.
You’d agree that without Rice, Partey was asked to do way too much, but he still managed to contribute to the second goal by assisting Gabriel Jesus. Notably, when Rice came on, it was a different ball game; things changed because the Englishman offered what Partey lacked when playing with Havertz.
Partey with Havertz (58 mins):
– 1.66 xG Conceded
– 13 Shots Conceded
– 6 Shots on Target Conceded
– 3 Big Chances Conceded
Partey with Rice (37 mins):
– 0.06 xG Conceded
– 2 Shots Conceded
– 0 Shots on Target Conceded
– 0 Big Chances Conceded
That said, when Partey plays in his position, you see balance in the team. Notably, Rice doesn’t just help him defensively; he repays the favor by releasing the Englishman at times. That’s why you see the Arsenal #41 going forward and sometimes scoring goals like he did versus Palace.
It’s great to have Partey back in his best position but surely Arteta will have noticed which is the best partnership, and with Jesus making a comeback as well, where does this leave Havertz?
Daniel O
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The person who partners Partey when we have the ball is usually the inverting left back. At the moment,I think Calafiori is the best option we have.
When we don’t have the ball,it’s usually the left 8 alongside Partey. At present,it has to be Rice because of his defensive nous.
That said,it’s good to have Merino and Havertz who can also play there. Arteta has been criticised in the past for lack of rotation. I think he’s improved in that aspect and it was a good decision to play Havertz there as we manage Rice’s minutes.
Agree with all of your comment Onyango. Rice looked to be back to his old and at least temporarily fit self yesterday which was great to see.
For me its Rice and Partey all day long.
If we have to play a different partnership, then for me it’s anyone from Merino, Jorginho, or Calafiori if we must.
But in my opinion, unless we are desperate and I mean desperate, Havertz should be nowhere near the midfield. I don’t know what game Onyango was watching to say it was a good idea to have Havertz in midfield, all he did was increase Partey’s workload.
No, as I said earlier Rice and Partey for me. 😉
The way Rice will operate in the midfield is not the same as Havertz but they can both play that position their own ways.
The tactical setup yesterday allows Havertz to play closer to Jesus and at the other end Odegard dropped to help in build up so as Skelly. Havertz stay up to provide long ball option to escape the opposition press. So the narration that Havertz left Partey isolated in the midfield battle is wrong as there’s no midfield battle in the first place. We have the possession, check your stats, they’re just dangerous on the break and both Raya and Saliba were nervous.
We may have more possession, but teams look to win the ball back and hit us quickly on the counter. This was a particular problem with palace because their press was very disciplined and effective. Players like rice and merino ensure they don’t do that very often because they help us win the ball back quickly during transition, before the counter attack gets going and becomes dangerous.
I think it depends on the team. For me rice is not very creative but can play a part.
I would personally like to see Nwari partner with partey or rice against a (softer) opponent. It would give us alot of creativity.
In tougher games it has to be rice. They are a great pair and we will sorley miss partey when he leaves. It will be up to Arteta to bring in a CDM who can match partey
I thought Saliba was to blame for palace goal….he gave sarr too much space to hit that shot…. Though it was a risk but the double 10 we used in that match was the reason we were fast and played like the team of 22/23… Rice would have brought balance in the middle if he started but our play will be slow and we could end up doing things smilar to how we play during our recent 2 league draw…
Saliba was indeed culpable for the Palace goal and his first half performance was the poorest of the season.His positioning ,close control and decision making was way out and to blame Partey for the Sarr goal is nonsense.
It almost seemed like he overslept and didn’t fully wake up until later in the game. I have to admit though that imo Raya perhaps could have done a little better in covering his far post after Saliba appeared to cut off the potential for an effective near post shot.
Partey loosed him first before Saliba fumble just like he loosed Pedro for that Brighton equalizer. And no opinion is nonsense
Partey, Rice and Odegaard without a doubt for me. Partey when fit and in form is absolute class. Havertz is still a bit of a misfit, he is not an outstanding midfielder nor is he a great CF. That said, I thought he put in a good shift yesterday without catching the eye. Rice played like the player we know he can be when fresh and fit.