Thomas Partey’s absence was again a big miss for Arsenal at Old Trafford as Manchester United put an end to their winning start to the season, despite the Gunners being slightly the better side on the day.
Few mistakes again costed them. The absence of the Ghanian left the defence vulnerable as even his backup, Mohammed Elneny was not available to deputize. However, Mikel Arteta surely will be needing more than just a backup or competitor for the former Atletico man.
Brand new season same old story the result looked on Sunday but performance wise, it was not that of an Arsenal side that wouldn’t show up in the big games, not the one that left the enemies ground with tails between legs but one that has knowingly become the architect of their own mishap.
A perfect start to the season was under threat ahead of the trip to Old Trafford and even Mikel Arteta would have seen it coming after the injuries to both Thomas Partey and Mohammed Elneny following the win over Fulham in the round four.
Results have been convincing in the first three games with Thomas Partey with the Gunners winning all by more than a goal margin and even keeping two clean sheets in the three games. However, the last two before the trip to Old Trafford have been laboured wins.
With Thomas Partey in the side this season, Arsenal have never been behind or allowed the opponent to level up whenever they have scored first but in the absence of the Ghanaian, Fulham scored first and even Aston Villa equalized after Arsenal have taken a lead
His absence is again proving a pain for the club after previously sustaining an injury which ended up haunting them in the top four race last season, he has yet again returned to the table of the medics for the foreseeable future after only three games into the season.
It was not even an injury sustained on the pitch, Partey has never started ten consecutive league games since signing for the Arsenal in the summer of 2019 in a £45 million move from Atletico Madrid.
However, Arsenal have left themselves down at the start of the season when they choose only to have a backup for Thomas Partey in Mohammed Elneny but not planned a future without the Ghanaian who has been time and again found wanting whenever the club needs him.
Mikel Arteta identified the player of the right profile for his style of play in Thomas Partey and there is no denying when the Ghanaian plays for the club, he makes them better than when anyone else is played in his place.
There is no doubt about Thomas Partey’s abilities and what he brings to the team, of which no one in the current Arsenal squad does. A fact which will continuously be a reason for their heartaches if things do not change as early as the next transfer window.
Partey is not reliable and in a league where you now have up to eight teams battling for four Champions League spots, you can not continue to leave things to chances as Arsenal have always do with Thomas Partey.
The 29-year old has never started more than nine consecutive league games since moving to Arsenal and has never made more than 23 League appearances a season in his years in London.
Partey has only started in 57 per cent of league games since joining Arsenal whilst he has become a very big part of the project, and now, it is evidence that prolonging the overreliance on him will continue to hurt their chances of achieving anything.
Partey plays a very crucial role in the set up. The Central Defensive Midfield position is one that can not be compromised and the little flaws left by Albert Sambi Lokonga was what Manchester United feasted on in the clash on Sunday.
Any other positions can still be maneuvered if all other players are on the pitch but there is no where to hide for a central defensive Midfielder. You have to be up here or down there and Arteta was not for the first time made to realize Lokonga is not near ready.
Arsenal will play the coming games with Lokonga in the starting XI as there is no other option until Partey returns from the sideline else Granit Xhaka is made to take up a role where he is not at all comfortable.
Arteta will only hope that the Premier League meetings with Everton and Brentford will come easy and also that Thomas Partey returns before the meeting with Tottheham Hotspur at the start of next month.
The season is young but could get longer for Arsenal if they continue to linger on the uncertainty of Thomas Partey’s fitness and not seize the opportunity of the winter window to permanently replace and move on from the no Thomas no Partey headache.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
1 Comment
Partey was almost indispensable in that Atletico midfield but El Cholo saw his predicament and quickly cashed in on him for a pretty better DM in Rodrigo who later moved to city because of his brilliance. My verdict would be that Arsenal would go all out during the January transfer to reinforce that midfield but before then, find a way to keep Sambi Lokonga fit to play more games. He was fantastic yesterday until united started with accurate long passes.