Ghana’s Thomas Partey appears to have had a bright start to life in the English Premier League this season.
The 31-year-old has started all of his side’s opening five matches, including the weekend’s entertaining 2:2 draw with Champions Manchester City.
Partey has not sustained an injury in the early part of the season compared to previous seasons. However, not every football pundit and Arsenal fan greatly supports the Ghanaian deputy Captain.
Gary Neville claimed before the Gunners cliffhanger against Tottenham Hotspurs that Partey had not been on good form and that he would have preferred Italian Jorginho to start the encounter ahead of Partey.
Partey responded to his critics with a stellar performance vs. Man City on Sunday, setting up Arsenal’s equalizing goal with a quickly taken freekick and generally dictating the tempo of the game in the first half with his calmness on the ball.
His performance did not go unnoticed by Arsenal’s website analyst Adrian Clarke, who summed it up by stating that Partey stepped up:
“Arsenal’s tactical mindset is so sharp these days, and it was evident again at the Etihad Stadium.
“For our equaliser, credit must go to Thomas Partey and Gabriel Martinelli for identifying an opportunity to play a quick free kick in behind Kyle Walker.
“The pass and the run were bright pieces of thinking that helped us gain valuable territory.
Partey stepped up
This was comfortably Thomas Partey’s best performance of the season so far.
Right from the word go, the Ghanaian was tenacious in his duels, adopting a proactive approach to regaining possession.
His presence screening the back six during a challenging second period was integral to our success, and in possession, he was also very calm.
No one made more successful passes for us on Sunday than Partey.
| Thomas partey v man city | AFC Rank | |
| Accurate passes | 25 | 1st |
| Passes in final third | 8 | 1st |
| Possession won | 6 | 1st |
| Fouls won | 3 | 1st |
| Tackles | 3 | Joint 1st |
| Duels won | 7 | 2nd |
Manchester City pressed Arsenal with conviction during a much more even first half at 11v11, and in that game state, Partey chose the right option consistently.
Throughout this contest, which lasted for 109 minutes and 15 seconds, Partey did not give the ball away once inside his own half, barring the concession of a throw-in.
This was an impressive all-round effort from him.
