Thomas Partey has become Arsenal’s mystery man this season. The Ghanian defensive midfielder has again struggled with injuries during a season the Gunners need him the most.
Going into 2023/2024, there were a lot of questions regarding Partey’s future in north London. Some people wanted to see him go, while others wanted him to stay, and stay he did.
Not only did he stay with Arsenal, Mikel Arteta put him into his starting XI in the first four matches of the season. Since then, Thomas has missed eight matches due to injury, and was on the bench twice more.
This is a player who brings a lot of value to this club, however, his injuries, and his slumps on the pitch have left him the mystery man for 2023/2024.
Now in his fourth season with Arsenal, Partey has appeared in 105 matches. The Gunners have played 166 matches during his time in north London.
Yes, Partey is injury-prone, but today a headline surfaced that claims he is “increasingly dissatisfied” with his lack of minutes this season and will look to leave the club in January if “the situations doesn’t change.”
His decline in minutes comes despite Mikel Arteta’s desire to keep the player, but did maintain Declan Rice’s arrival to the club would impact Partey. Arteta said: “Without a question of a doubt, Thomas Partey is a super important player for us and for me. I want him to be in the team. Every time I spoke to him and every time I have a conversation with him, his will is to stay with us. For me, there’s nothing there at all.”
The Spaniard also added: “They (Partey and Rice) can play together and that was in my plans. You want to improve the squad and have more quality. We need players who can play together but we need players in the same position who can fight for their places. It’s something we haven’t had over the last few years and we wanted to improve that and that’s why we bought Declan.”
So, you put together Partey’s injuries, along his “bad days” and from his competition with Rice, and you see where Partey’s playing time has gone.
To me, Thomas Partey is an extremely valuable part of this club. I believe Rice and Partey, along with Martin Odegaard would be a fierce Arsenal midfield. I hope we get to see that midfield trio in the days ahead.
Let’s see what happens when Partey returns after this injury, and hope if he can remain injury-free for the remainder of the season.
Cheers.
Gunner1953
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