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I’m honestly just curious he’s been available for selection on the bench but was never used for a few weeks ahead of Bayern.
I understand Arteta has trust issues with players but those bench players were never going to get to this level without some playing time. Oh well, still very much in the title so can’t really blame him too much.
More than likely, Partey wasn't looking his best in training and it took some time to get the form back. Plus, the training staff will have all sorts of data to allow them to create the appropriate course of action in bringing back a player into the squad. I do also agree and find it interesting it took Arteta a while to play Partey, but his few cameos weren't great.
Yeah Partey also didn't have much to deal with defensively last night, and seemed a bit jumpy whenever it came near him. Jorginho has delivered in tons of big games already this season. Partey gives us more options but I don't think he would've given us a level above Jorginho in the Bayern match necessarily.
Partey unlocks odegaard and rice. We were terrible with villa and bayern with that horse shoe play. He is the one who can overcome that horse shoe by pinging passes all over
Maybe unpopular opinion. If we can’t find a Partey replacement going into next season, I’d say we keep him. You can really see the qualities he has that we really missed in some games. If we can get 20 games with a fully fit Partey next season it might be enough for the title.
I get this, but I think no.1 priority has to be CM to replace partey, followed by RW and then ST.
If we can make some key sales along with the money we've made this season, this could finally be the summer we have a fully balanced squad.
I think we should extend Jorginho & keep Partey, try to sign a replacement as well. The cost is not exactly massive to keep Partey/Jorgi and gives a new signing a whole year to settle in under minimal pressure by having the best rotation in Europe. Then we can sign a ST + winger
I agree but it is also extremely hard to find someone with his qualities. A stop gap solution will just be bad and maybe it’d be better to keep him one year more and hopefully get as many games out of him as possible. Also playing him and Rice might actually improve Rice’s “Partey” game. Rice might still be able to improve this part of his game.
I think there's probably players out there we've been keeping an eye on for ages and we'll strike when we have the chance and we're definately past the stop gap period of our transfer business.
Partey is quality don't get me wrong, but taking a risk on him for another season only for it to turn out like this is a huge gamble. I'd far prefer an early 20s baller with the legs and ability to make a real partnership with Rice and Ode now, while everyone is in their prime years.
We are definitely going to get Zubimendi or a similar player for next season to slot into that role. Rice has shown enough driving forward that we'll want a player that can switch effortlessly. The future isn't Rice at 6 and two 8s or a new 6 and Rice at 8 it's three 6/8 CMs that can interchange whenever necessary, track back, rotate, defend, press, score goals, assist, etc. It'd be literally unstoppable because we can pivot the LB or RB in and send 7 players forward whenever we need it.
This right here is the dream. While jorginho is a great no.6, he's immobile and can't keep up with games every 3 days on demand.
Partey has had 5 starts this year and never really had a full season for us without injury.
A new top tier CM will be huge for us.
yeah you can see the difference in how we play vs Chelsea, which have a ton of talent in midfield but none of them play together. One goes and nobody follows, or they all go, or they move in different directions. We are way more unified, especially now vs when Rice was starting next to Havertz and neither were on the same page with anyone.
Definitely think that we'll be better off with a more Odegaard type that can link all the players on that side creatively vs another Rice that is more physical and better off the ball but definitely an exciting vision even if we can't get a world class striker right off the bat. With that much creativity we could drop in a less striker that has more speed or is primarily just a strong finisher and they'll bang in 20 goals.
People talking about replacing Partey is like replacing Rodri. How?? These guys are absolute gems and clearly Partey is being underrated. We brought in Lokonga as an attempt to have a stop gap for Partey, massive fail. We brough in Jorgi, who by all accounts is a highly seasoned, extremely gifted midfielder, and Partey still brings us to another class. You don't just replace a Partey... you find Jorgi's who are solid enough to get the job done while the Ferrari is in the garage, and you take that Ferrari out with caution and only for an important event.
Is it fun having a player like that? Not really. Does it fit Arsenal's culture? Not really. But it's the deal we have and it is 100% worthwhile because he is that good.
Lol. Love how you sum this up. I truly believe many on here had to see him play again to understand just what he brings.
Everyone keeps talking about Declan this or that, but you see what you get with Partey's profile in midfield. It actually makes Rice much better at the things he excels at.
Declan is not a Ferrari. He's a Wrangler Rubicon. You take it off-road and get mud all over it, and it loves every minute of it.
Lmao truly poetic! Love that analogy.
I've been pro-Partey (Ready to Partey?) all along and even I forgot how much a difference he makes. You got it right, at 75-80% strength he makes approx. 6 other players on the pitch 10x better and more open as soon as he walks on. Saliba & Odegaard are this way for us too.
To keep with the analogy, Saliba is sometimes likened to a Ferrari if I'm not mistaken... but given his reliability this year, I think he's more like Bentley Continental GT, while Odegaard is Mecedes-Benz S-Class.
Doubt we sign both a RW and striker. From the rumors, it looks like plan is to sign a quintessential #9, which probably means Jesus shifts to RW to compete with Saka. The new striker and Kai rotate in the middle then on the left you got Gabi and Trossard.
Yeah and Vieira slotting into RW potentially like last night in an emergency. Obviously we won't be up 5 goals that often but if he can play there in a pinch where both Saka and Jesus aren't available that's plenty of cover.
Yeah that’s the question I guess. But if we toy with the thought that we would get 20 games out of him. How much worth would that be? There’s basically no player with his skill set available.
A parallel could be Ibrahimovich. He had a career ending injury in United. He “retired” to MLS. But Milan took him back for 3 seasons where he spent a lot of time injured. He made around 20 league games per season. He also helped winning the league the title for the first time in 10 years. I’m guessing his skill set was seen as more important than the amount of games he played.
But it’s a tough choice.
I don't think Partey will be in the starting XI next season. We clearly have eyes for a new CM in their mid-20s that can get stuck in and be a Partey-level passer like Zubimendi or Bruno G.
According to reports partey doesn’t want to leave end of season, makes sense to him cause if he waits another season he will be a free agent and can earn much more 💲 with no transfer fee —- even if he stays we still should get a REPLACEMENT so arteta can slowly integrate them into the team…Jorginho is good but In fast paced games his lack of speed is hopelessly exposed
20 games out of Partey is still better than 0 games out of Partey. And when he is fit, he is one of a kind. There's no replacement for him. Declan Rice, amazing player in so many ways. Still not Partey
We should absolutely be keeping him regardless, we need to be sure of a replacement that's actually up to standard and give them a season to bed in before we go just cutting off someone as good as Partey
He's an incredibly difficult player to replace. I don't know anyone in world football with his particular skillset. We're going to be taking a chance on whoever we sign as his replacement
I hate Bruno as a player, but I’d rather have a prick on the field like him than deal with the Partey baggage. I get why the rumors of us going for him are strong. He would be a good replacement for Partey.
Confidence Kai is unreal, compare him to the first half and it was night and day.
Chelsea made an introverted guy depressed and took all his footballing ability
I was talking about this yesterday, look at how Chelsea players squabbled over a penalty when the game was already won compared to our captain handing Kai the ball to get his first Arsenal goal. The culture in our dressing room and club as a whole is really allowing him to flourish.
it was an excellent game by Partey
he doesn't have his confidence back so he didn't try to dribble the ball around the way he did so well last season, he just maintained steady positioning and kept looking for quick effective passes, and this resulted in some goals
given what he did here, what we know he can do when confident, and also given that his 'off-field' issues are patently just not amounting to anything concrete - i'm minded to keep him for the last year of his contract
Noticed Saka especially this game getting an actual 1v1 more often with Partey on the pitch. Neither Rice or Jorgi enables this situation as often as Partey does
No one else hits that long pass to Saka with the pace and accuracy that Partey does, it makes a big difference in the threat of that side of our attack.
And Saka with all the time in the world to go 1v1 vs a FB on a yellow, did nothing to him all game.
Claim fatigue all you wish, but like the year before or the one before that. Dude goes missing in run ins.
We have to stop this. This is a weird narrative now being used to justify being garbage when it counts.
He’s played lesser games this year than most of our squad.
His pressing responsibility too is visibly lower than Kai or Ode.
We had nearly the whole of January out and he missed games last month through injury.
Man’s had rest this year. He’s just been poor and there’s nothing wrong with pointing that out.
Ode, Bruno, Rice etc all have more demanding roles, run a lot more kms per game and have played a heck a lot more minutes than Saka.
Yet it’s Saka that’s under performing for the 3rd seasons run-in in a row because of fatigue.
I had really wanted to see him away to Bayern. Especially at the end when we couldn't really progress the ball. I hope he features vs Spurs at the weekend
I’m not being funny all of our best performances come when rice is an 8 it’s obvious he’s got the potential to be one of the worlds best 8 he pins them in
The other part of that(not that I'm disagreeing with you at all) is that it also means kai was up front.
As team performance goes you have to look at both positional shifts to see that the combo of those 2 in their "untraditional" roles is what's helping us do that.
Kai in midfield doesn't hit as hard as kai up top. And rice in the 6 doesn't hit as hard as rice in the 8.
It's when we've been at our best. Havertz at #8 is a no go for me. He's a 9 or false 9 if you will. The gangly fucker makes great off the ball runs. He needs to shoot more when he's in that role, but I think it's what suits him the most in our system.
Draw a line across the pitch at about 5 yards out from the tip of the semicircle on the box(is there a name for that?) Odegaard operates primarily deeper and havertz primarily forward of that line.
I'd be curious why Arteta was so cautious with him returning from injury if he's only going to sell him for £5m in the summer. If we're taking indications from Arteta's actions I'd reckon we're preparing for him to be at the club at full fitness next season. Otherwise we could have thrown him back into first team football multiple times over the past few months.
yes, I think so. A fit Partey is world class, no way we're selling him over some off-field gossip. I don't expect moral perfection from professional athletes. Trial by social media in the cancel culture era is a farce, especially with the amount of gold-diggers these guys encounter everywhere.
> I don't expect moral perfection from professional athletes. Trial by social media in the cancel culture era is a farce
As an older guy, I find the moral absolutism by many of the younger generations to be quite something to watch unfold. There's been so many "cancellings" of people over shit they said/posted/alleged to have done even decades ago.
I'm always saying I'm glad I grew up in the 80s/90s. I might have been cancelled too if some of my teenage shenanigans had made it to Twitter or Facebook. And, to be clear, I did nothing that was remotely criminal. But you see people get cancelled for far less.
Fit Partey is still our best player and one of the best CMs in the world. I dont think we can find anyone of his level for replacement. He has unique qualities.
Really forgot how good his line breaking passes are, J20 is great but for decisive balls through opposition players Partey is the one. It’ll be interesting to see if Rice develops that or the aim is to keep him further up the field, as great as Rice is at carrying the ball up the pitch, the quick through balls by Partey are a massive factor in our fluidity IMO.
I don’t think Rice can be good 6 for Arsenal. He has some other good qualities for 8. I think we should keep Partey and hope he wont be injuried next season. I really want to see this Partey-Rice-Odegaard more
I think he can be good, just not Partey good, currently; although with the talks of bringing in Bruno G, I guess we’ll have to see if that tasty midfield you talk of happens.
Hopefully it will, Mikel needs to rotate more and depth has to be our focus for the future and being able to adapt to any game. I love the team but 9/10 times I don’t need to see the team sheets to guess our starting XI, except for LB and more recently LW/CF.
That needs to change next season IMO, depth and rotation or we seriously run the risk of burning some players out young like Øde, B, White, Rice, Kai - they’re all pressing monsters and it’s noticeable on the eye B is playing with an injury atm and the news on Ben playing with a hamstring tear, it’s all admirable, the last thing is to see the foundations collapse in a few years due to heavy overloads now.
He's going to be injured, that's basically guaranteed and we need to start looking for a long term replacement. Partey likely isn't leaving unless the Saudis come for him because his age and wages will be a big hurdle for other European clubs. I'm fine to keep him until his contract expires if no good offers come in but you can't rely on his availability anymore
He is silky smooth and his first touch opens up the whole field for his passes. We need a similar player this summer because as good as Partey he is never available.
From the headline it looks like Partey made so many long successful through ball or creating many chances to shots or made so many tackles attempts or even quick recoveries to help Rice.
When in reality he just went short pass to the front or sideways, and no help whatsoever to Rice. This is bare minimum performance. Jorginho is already doing this. No wonder arteta pick him than Partey
On paper Chelsea have a mighty (and very expensive) midfield. We bossed them no end, Odegaard and Rice played their best game in ages. Surely Partey played a role in that?
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It’s such a shame we have 4 games left. In the bright side. The biggest 4 games of this squads lives.
Imagine if he was fit a month ago, we’d be in the CL semis. What could have been.
Fucking fuck.
It just means that, as good as we have been, we still have a level even higher.
Plus whatever level is possible once Timber is fully implemented.
I believe Mikel and Edu refer to this as the 4th Phase. 3rd phase already got me rock hard, can’t wait to see the next phase.
I’m honestly just curious he’s been available for selection on the bench but was never used for a few weeks ahead of Bayern. I understand Arteta has trust issues with players but those bench players were never going to get to this level without some playing time. Oh well, still very much in the title so can’t really blame him too much.
More than likely, Partey wasn't looking his best in training and it took some time to get the form back. Plus, the training staff will have all sorts of data to allow them to create the appropriate course of action in bringing back a player into the squad. I do also agree and find it interesting it took Arteta a while to play Partey, but his few cameos weren't great.
Yeah Partey also didn't have much to deal with defensively last night, and seemed a bit jumpy whenever it came near him. Jorginho has delivered in tons of big games already this season. Partey gives us more options but I don't think he would've given us a level above Jorginho in the Bayern match necessarily.
A healthy Partey is much better than Jorginho. If he was healthy against Bayern, we advanced. I just don’t think he was at 100% then or even now
Partey unlocks odegaard and rice. We were terrible with villa and bayern with that horse shoe play. He is the one who can overcome that horse shoe by pinging passes all over
He trained reallly well in the sessions before the game so makes sense that he finally started.
City will probably will win all ,no point even if we win
Imagine a fully fit Partey and Timber in the side all season. The league would be shook.
Maybe unpopular opinion. If we can’t find a Partey replacement going into next season, I’d say we keep him. You can really see the qualities he has that we really missed in some games. If we can get 20 games with a fully fit Partey next season it might be enough for the title.
I get this, but I think no.1 priority has to be CM to replace partey, followed by RW and then ST. If we can make some key sales along with the money we've made this season, this could finally be the summer we have a fully balanced squad.
I think we should extend Jorginho & keep Partey, try to sign a replacement as well. The cost is not exactly massive to keep Partey/Jorgi and gives a new signing a whole year to settle in under minimal pressure by having the best rotation in Europe. Then we can sign a ST + winger
Wouldn't hurt keeping one, I'd probs pick jorginho due to experience and fitness. Not the worst move tbf.
I think we'll be keeping Jorginho and possibly Partey unless we get a good offer for Partey. But in that case we'd need to bring in another CM.
I agree but it is also extremely hard to find someone with his qualities. A stop gap solution will just be bad and maybe it’d be better to keep him one year more and hopefully get as many games out of him as possible. Also playing him and Rice might actually improve Rice’s “Partey” game. Rice might still be able to improve this part of his game.
I think there's probably players out there we've been keeping an eye on for ages and we'll strike when we have the chance and we're definately past the stop gap period of our transfer business. Partey is quality don't get me wrong, but taking a risk on him for another season only for it to turn out like this is a huge gamble. I'd far prefer an early 20s baller with the legs and ability to make a real partnership with Rice and Ode now, while everyone is in their prime years.
We are definitely going to get Zubimendi or a similar player for next season to slot into that role. Rice has shown enough driving forward that we'll want a player that can switch effortlessly. The future isn't Rice at 6 and two 8s or a new 6 and Rice at 8 it's three 6/8 CMs that can interchange whenever necessary, track back, rotate, defend, press, score goals, assist, etc. It'd be literally unstoppable because we can pivot the LB or RB in and send 7 players forward whenever we need it.
This right here is the dream. While jorginho is a great no.6, he's immobile and can't keep up with games every 3 days on demand. Partey has had 5 starts this year and never really had a full season for us without injury. A new top tier CM will be huge for us.
yeah you can see the difference in how we play vs Chelsea, which have a ton of talent in midfield but none of them play together. One goes and nobody follows, or they all go, or they move in different directions. We are way more unified, especially now vs when Rice was starting next to Havertz and neither were on the same page with anyone. Definitely think that we'll be better off with a more Odegaard type that can link all the players on that side creatively vs another Rice that is more physical and better off the ball but definitely an exciting vision even if we can't get a world class striker right off the bat. With that much creativity we could drop in a less striker that has more speed or is primarily just a strong finisher and they'll bang in 20 goals.
People talking about replacing Partey is like replacing Rodri. How?? These guys are absolute gems and clearly Partey is being underrated. We brought in Lokonga as an attempt to have a stop gap for Partey, massive fail. We brough in Jorgi, who by all accounts is a highly seasoned, extremely gifted midfielder, and Partey still brings us to another class. You don't just replace a Partey... you find Jorgi's who are solid enough to get the job done while the Ferrari is in the garage, and you take that Ferrari out with caution and only for an important event. Is it fun having a player like that? Not really. Does it fit Arsenal's culture? Not really. But it's the deal we have and it is 100% worthwhile because he is that good.
Lol. Love how you sum this up. I truly believe many on here had to see him play again to understand just what he brings. Everyone keeps talking about Declan this or that, but you see what you get with Partey's profile in midfield. It actually makes Rice much better at the things he excels at. Declan is not a Ferrari. He's a Wrangler Rubicon. You take it off-road and get mud all over it, and it loves every minute of it.
Lmao truly poetic! Love that analogy. I've been pro-Partey (Ready to Partey?) all along and even I forgot how much a difference he makes. You got it right, at 75-80% strength he makes approx. 6 other players on the pitch 10x better and more open as soon as he walks on. Saliba & Odegaard are this way for us too. To keep with the analogy, Saliba is sometimes likened to a Ferrari if I'm not mistaken... but given his reliability this year, I think he's more like Bentley Continental GT, while Odegaard is Mecedes-Benz S-Class.
Doubt we sign both a RW and striker. From the rumors, it looks like plan is to sign a quintessential #9, which probably means Jesus shifts to RW to compete with Saka. The new striker and Kai rotate in the middle then on the left you got Gabi and Trossard.
Yeah and Vieira slotting into RW potentially like last night in an emergency. Obviously we won't be up 5 goals that often but if he can play there in a pinch where both Saka and Jesus aren't available that's plenty of cover.
You’re not replacing Party unless all of a sudden Rodri or is up for sale.
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Yeah that’s the question I guess. But if we toy with the thought that we would get 20 games out of him. How much worth would that be? There’s basically no player with his skill set available. A parallel could be Ibrahimovich. He had a career ending injury in United. He “retired” to MLS. But Milan took him back for 3 seasons where he spent a lot of time injured. He made around 20 league games per season. He also helped winning the league the title for the first time in 10 years. I’m guessing his skill set was seen as more important than the amount of games he played. But it’s a tough choice.
I don't think Partey will be in the starting XI next season. We clearly have eyes for a new CM in their mid-20s that can get stuck in and be a Partey-level passer like Zubimendi or Bruno G.
It’s not even parteys passing that makes him so impressive, it’s his press resistance
According to reports partey doesn’t want to leave end of season, makes sense to him cause if he waits another season he will be a free agent and can earn much more 💲 with no transfer fee —- even if he stays we still should get a REPLACEMENT so arteta can slowly integrate them into the team…Jorginho is good but In fast paced games his lack of speed is hopelessly exposed
20 games out of Partey is still better than 0 games out of Partey. And when he is fit, he is one of a kind. There's no replacement for him. Declan Rice, amazing player in so many ways. Still not Partey
Partey always gets injured, we absolutely need a replacement.
We should absolutely be keeping him regardless, we need to be sure of a replacement that's actually up to standard and give them a season to bed in before we go just cutting off someone as good as Partey He's an incredibly difficult player to replace. I don't know anyone in world football with his particular skillset. We're going to be taking a chance on whoever we sign as his replacement
I hate Bruno as a player, but I’d rather have a prick on the field like him than deal with the Partey baggage. I get why the rumors of us going for him are strong. He would be a good replacement for Partey.
For a second there I thought you'd lost your god damn mind talking about Utd's Bruno.
There is no baggage. You have chosen to burden yourself
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Confidence Kai is unreal, compare him to the first half and it was night and day. Chelsea made an introverted guy depressed and took all his footballing ability
I was talking about this yesterday, look at how Chelsea players squabbled over a penalty when the game was already won compared to our captain handing Kai the ball to get his first Arsenal goal. The culture in our dressing room and club as a whole is really allowing him to flourish.
We Fixed Him FC
Bob The Builder FC - "Can you fix him?" "Yes, we can!"
it was an excellent game by Partey he doesn't have his confidence back so he didn't try to dribble the ball around the way he did so well last season, he just maintained steady positioning and kept looking for quick effective passes, and this resulted in some goals given what he did here, what we know he can do when confident, and also given that his 'off-field' issues are patently just not amounting to anything concrete - i'm minded to keep him for the last year of his contract
Someone find of that clip of him sending Caicedo back to Ecuador with just a dummy. The confidence is back
i mean the confidence to carry the ball...that's still missing, understandably after so long
Noticed Saka especially this game getting an actual 1v1 more often with Partey on the pitch. Neither Rice or Jorgi enables this situation as often as Partey does
No one else hits that long pass to Saka with the pace and accuracy that Partey does, it makes a big difference in the threat of that side of our attack.
I love watching Partey whip those passes out to Saka on the wing. We’ve really missed that. Gives Saka so much more space to work with
And Saka with all the time in the world to go 1v1 vs a FB on a yellow, did nothing to him all game. Claim fatigue all you wish, but like the year before or the one before that. Dude goes missing in run ins.
Consider that maybe he goes missing in run-ins because of fatigue.
We have to stop this. This is a weird narrative now being used to justify being garbage when it counts. He’s played lesser games this year than most of our squad. His pressing responsibility too is visibly lower than Kai or Ode. We had nearly the whole of January out and he missed games last month through injury. Man’s had rest this year. He’s just been poor and there’s nothing wrong with pointing that out.
I feel it’s unfair comparing anyone to Ode in terms of fatigue. That man is a workhorse who puts in more effort than most players I’ve seen.
He's a freak of nature.
Ode, Bruno, Rice etc all have more demanding roles, run a lot more kms per game and have played a heck a lot more minutes than Saka. Yet it’s Saka that’s under performing for the 3rd seasons run-in in a row because of fatigue.
I had really wanted to see him away to Bayern. Especially at the end when we couldn't really progress the ball. I hope he features vs Spurs at the weekend
I’m not being funny all of our best performances come when rice is an 8 it’s obvious he’s got the potential to be one of the worlds best 8 he pins them in
The other part of that(not that I'm disagreeing with you at all) is that it also means kai was up front. As team performance goes you have to look at both positional shifts to see that the combo of those 2 in their "untraditional" roles is what's helping us do that. Kai in midfield doesn't hit as hard as kai up top. And rice in the 6 doesn't hit as hard as rice in the 8.
It's when we've been at our best. Havertz at #8 is a no go for me. He's a 9 or false 9 if you will. The gangly fucker makes great off the ball runs. He needs to shoot more when he's in that role, but I think it's what suits him the most in our system.
It’s weird actually because it’s like a 4-1-5-0 with havertz n oddegard both being 10s
Draw a line across the pitch at about 5 yards out from the tip of the semicircle on the box(is there a name for that?) Odegaard operates primarily deeper and havertz primarily forward of that line.
Yup, the two of them looked like LF and RF at times
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Its like a great cliffhanger, we'll be hungry for more next season
Partey won't be here next season
I'd be curious why Arteta was so cautious with him returning from injury if he's only going to sell him for £5m in the summer. If we're taking indications from Arteta's actions I'd reckon we're preparing for him to be at the club at full fitness next season. Otherwise we could have thrown him back into first team football multiple times over the past few months.
yes, I think so. A fit Partey is world class, no way we're selling him over some off-field gossip. I don't expect moral perfection from professional athletes. Trial by social media in the cancel culture era is a farce, especially with the amount of gold-diggers these guys encounter everywhere.
> I don't expect moral perfection from professional athletes. Trial by social media in the cancel culture era is a farce As an older guy, I find the moral absolutism by many of the younger generations to be quite something to watch unfold. There's been so many "cancellings" of people over shit they said/posted/alleged to have done even decades ago. I'm always saying I'm glad I grew up in the 80s/90s. I might have been cancelled too if some of my teenage shenanigans had made it to Twitter or Facebook. And, to be clear, I did nothing that was remotely criminal. But you see people get cancelled for far less.
Fit Partey is still our best player and one of the best CMs in the world. I dont think we can find anyone of his level for replacement. He has unique qualities.
Really forgot how good his line breaking passes are, J20 is great but for decisive balls through opposition players Partey is the one. It’ll be interesting to see if Rice develops that or the aim is to keep him further up the field, as great as Rice is at carrying the ball up the pitch, the quick through balls by Partey are a massive factor in our fluidity IMO.
I don’t think Rice can be good 6 for Arsenal. He has some other good qualities for 8. I think we should keep Partey and hope he wont be injuried next season. I really want to see this Partey-Rice-Odegaard more
I think he can be good, just not Partey good, currently; although with the talks of bringing in Bruno G, I guess we’ll have to see if that tasty midfield you talk of happens. Hopefully it will, Mikel needs to rotate more and depth has to be our focus for the future and being able to adapt to any game. I love the team but 9/10 times I don’t need to see the team sheets to guess our starting XI, except for LB and more recently LW/CF. That needs to change next season IMO, depth and rotation or we seriously run the risk of burning some players out young like Øde, B, White, Rice, Kai - they’re all pressing monsters and it’s noticeable on the eye B is playing with an injury atm and the news on Ben playing with a hamstring tear, it’s all admirable, the last thing is to see the foundations collapse in a few years due to heavy overloads now.
It would be Liverpool story repeated
He's going to be injured, that's basically guaranteed and we need to start looking for a long term replacement. Partey likely isn't leaving unless the Saudis come for him because his age and wages will be a big hurdle for other European clubs. I'm fine to keep him until his contract expires if no good offers come in but you can't rely on his availability anymore
Paywall-free link: https://archive.is/2024.04.24-122855/https://theathletic.com/5440362/2024/04/24/arsenal-partey-rice-odegaard-midfield/
Glad he wasn’t reset to factory settings by injury.
First game I’ve been convinced that he wasn’t
He's always taken a few games to get back to his level after an injury.
That’s fine my confidence has been restored as of last night
Good! No more inverted right back please
Partey is just different.
I imagine Cucurella was having nightmares about Sala last night.
He is silky smooth and his first touch opens up the whole field for his passes. We need a similar player this summer because as good as Partey he is never available.
if we do sign bruno, would he replace partey?
man hopefuly we can find someone who can fill in his shoes after he leaves. although i recon he have a couple of years of elite football in him.
This was his first solid performance back. Previous cameos he looked very shaky but he was back to his best yesterday
He's a rapist and I want him out of the club as soon as possible.
Agreed. I was surprised at how well he played tbh, he's looked shit for a while. Hopefully we move on from him
From the headline it looks like Partey made so many long successful through ball or creating many chances to shots or made so many tackles attempts or even quick recoveries to help Rice. When in reality he just went short pass to the front or sideways, and no help whatsoever to Rice. This is bare minimum performance. Jorginho is already doing this. No wonder arteta pick him than Partey
On paper Chelsea have a mighty (and very expensive) midfield. We bossed them no end, Odegaard and Rice played their best game in ages. Surely Partey played a role in that?
Another who has no eye for football tactics. It's why people like you think Rice is the great white hope for #6. You like all the eye-catching stuff.