Chris Sutton has said on BBC Radio 5 Live (9:20pm, October 18, 2021) that Arsenal defensive midfielder Thomas Partey has been disappointing.
The BBC pundit made the comments about Partey while watching him in action for Arsenal against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Monday evening.
The former Chelsea striker was on co-commentary duty for the London derby at the Emirates Stadium.
Sutton said about Partey on BBC Radio 5 Live (9:20pm, October 18, 2021): “There was a lot of excitement when he was signed by Arsenal.
“I thought decent signing on paper, but really the performances just haven’t been there.”
Does Thomas Partey need to step up?
Partey did well for Ghana over the international break, scoring two goals in two matches against Zimbabwe.
Arsenal fans would have expected the 28-year-old to be a star against Palace and really dominate the middle of the park.
In our view, it was a disappointing performance from the Ghana international.
The former Atletico Madrid star struggled to hold his own in the middle of the park and often gave the ball away.
Partey was actually dispossessed in midfield for one of the goals that Palace scored.
The 28-year-old has had injury problems last season and then again at the start of this campaign.
In our opinion, the midfielder has not fully exploded yet in the Premier League.
However, we should remain optimistic that Partey will eventually deliver top-level performances on a consistent basis.
Everyone has an off day at the office.
Now, of course, Arsenal Technical Director Edu paid £45 million to sign Partey from Atletico in the summer of 2020.
So, you could argue, the midfielder needs to play well in each and every game to justify the price-tag.
There is a point there, but we have to acknowledge that all players have bad games.
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