‘You cannot’: Tim Sherwood was left stunned by Arsenal 27-year-old’s actions last night

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Tim Sherwood told Premier League Productions that he couldn’t believe Thomas Partey was walking off the pitch during Arsenal’s defeat in the North London derby last night.

Moments before Harry Kane doubled his side’s lead in the first half, Partey began walking off the pitch because of a possible hamstring issue.

By the time the 27-year-old was near the touchline, Spurs began hitting Arsenal on the break and it meant that the away side were outnumbered in their own half, with Mikel Arteta then pushing his player to go back onto the pitch.

Sherwood shared that ‘you cannot walk off the pitch’ like Partey did, but he was also critical of how the Arsenal players reacted to the defensive-minded midfielder leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the park.

“Partey goes down injured and then he goes off,” said Sherwood. “But they are on the attack and that’s when Tottenham are at their most offensive and most dangerous.

“He walks off the pitch. You cannot walk off the pitch! Look at the gaping hole he leaves. The Arsenal players have no awareness, no-one is talking to them. No-one is telling them to be responsible.

“Mikel Arteta recognises and he tries to push him onto the pitch. He tries to run. He is broke. He has done his hamstring or whatever he has done and the rest is history. But what are they doing on the origination?”

It was a quite extraordinary moment during the game and it will perhaps result in the Arsenal fans having a mixed reaction to Partey’s decision.

On one hand, the player is injured and when he was actually walking off the pitch, his team had the ball in Tottenham’s half. Only for possession to be turned over as he is nearing the touchline.

But then again, he perhaps should have stayed on the pitch, tried to stop play by going down or by committing a tactical foul.