It was definitely not a masterclass by Thomas but it was not a nightmare, either.
Thomas Partey played made his first Emirates and Premier League start in a 1-0 defeat against Leicester.
We can't say he was the most impressive player in the squad. Some Arsenal fans were expecting more from him, while others believe we need to give him time to adjust to another league.
A.F, Online Arsenal: "Clearly not used to being deepest midfielder/holding midfielder and doesn’t quite move how you want someone in that position to move. Pretty much marked himself out of the game.
"Played two excellent passes, but only attempted 54. With his quality on the ball, you want him to attempt close to 100 in games like these.
"Next to another defensive midfielder, in a midfield 2, is what he’s used to and where I think he should play (for now)."
Jeremiah S., The Athletic: "I believe that Xhaka and Partey can coexist... But Xhaka just seemed to be using Partey to make the game easier for himself, which in turn hurt the team.
"Our first half was phenomenal, the only time Leicester even thought about scoring was when Maddison heaved up a long ball early."
PoliQU, Reddit: "Another issue is that it was clear early on that Leicester was marking Partey fairly tightly, and cutting off the pass into him. This is what left Luiz with so much space to make those long balls in, which were working quite well."
Nejch, Goonersworld: "Had a couple of good long passes but other than that added nothing to the team. He'll come good in other types of games though, this wasn't one where he could shine. We lacked creativity and had little defending to do."
sdotzdot, Arsenal Mania: "No one passed to him, but he was also extremely timid. Looked like he was hiding behind or right next to Leicester players through the whole game intentionally to avoid getting the ball, it was very strange to watch."
Powderfinger, Online Arsenal: "He is a good progressive passer but needs players to actually target. We are badly missing a second player in addition to Saka that can drift into pockets of space between the lines, receive the ball, and then do something useful with it."
MiamiGooner, Reddit: "Partey was parked in the middle and no one had the balls to pass it to him. He was definitely being crowded out of the game and marked but he kept moving and showing for the ball.
"Xhaka receives the ball and takes 20 years to decide where to pass and then boom it’s too late for the Partey option."
Polar Bear, Arsenal Mania: "As I expected Prem is way too fast for him, BUT that's only because he is so new and came from La Liga, give him time to get used to it... he will learn how fast the Prem games are and become used to it.
"The game was too fast for him today because its nothing like Europa League foreign clubs.. but he needs time and he will know. I expect in 5 weeks time he will be much more used to how quick the games are in this league."
How do you rate Partey's performance against the Foxes?
Comments
xhaka is the person making party look dull
Totally agree Xhaka is slow and one footed, Elneny played better with Partey than Xhaka, I hope Arteta see that and make the change
it seem ADM watch the back of TV how many pass was given to the guy at the midfield
precisely. at a point he even got angry at one of the players not passing the ball to him
I watched the game from the starting to the finish, Partey is a player who doesn't mind receiving the ball in a tight position, he's confident with the ball when he has it and doesn't lose the ball easily like every other Arsenal players who can't hold the ball to their feet for 10 seconds. they simply didn't pass to him and it was strange and very annoying to see that he wasn't given the ball often times and he even noticed it. the Leicester game was annoying to watch as an arsenal fan. we were never supposed to lose that game and it will cost us dearly in the future just watch it....