Arsenal: The tactical reasons Thomas Partey was substituted for

Mere minutes after Thomas Partey’s departure from the field on Thursday, Arsenal conceded in comical fashion. Mikel Arteta’s substitutions once again thrust into the limelight as the player he brought on played a part in Olympiacos’ equaliser.

The mistake was not all Dani Ceballos’ fault, of course, but it begged the question of why the substitution needed to occur in the first place. Was it injury? Was it to protect the Ghanaian on his return to fitness.

All was forgotten about as goals from Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny orchestrated an excellent 3-1 win to put the tie firmly within Arsenal’s grasp, although the question was still posed to Mikel Arteta post-match, providing an unexpected response:

"“No, it was a tactical decision. I wanted to change him [Partey] and bring somebody else in to try to find some other stuff and try to change the shape with the way we were playing inside,” he told the official Arsenal website."

What tactical reasons was Thomas Partey substituted for against Olympiacos? What was Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s plan?

Thomas Partey was brought to the club for tactical reasons, thus the decision of Arteta to do so conjures up a simple question: why?

It wasn’t the best half of football from the £45m signing. There was questionable decision-making by the midfielder who looked off the pace, despite recording his second-highest passing accuracy in a red and white shirt at 96.7%.

After the break he looked increasingly composed, demonstrated by a delightful heel flick just before his substitution. However, Arteta made the call to bring Ceballos on with the intention of bringing the best out of Martin Odegaard.

Ceballos sat generally a deeper than Xhaka upon his arrival, unlike Partey, which saw Odegaard come drop off in situations that presented Ceballos with the opportunity to run beyond. Partey isn’t someone to make these darting movements and it meant the Norwegian was granted less space to operate.

Ceballos also got on the ball with more urgency, playing 11 more passes than Partey despite being on the pitch 15 fewer minutes.

Odegaard invites bodies and forces people to surround him and in bringing Ceballos on the pitch it meant the right inside channel was used in an alternative manner, also presenting Bellerin with the chance to push a few yards higher up the pitch. Despite being himself off the boil in the first half, the January addition grew into proceedings after the break as he drove with possession more frequently. His influence grew as the clock ticked on, adding justification to Arteta’s decision.

The 27-year-old isn’t there yet. It was felt Thursday could be his moment to truly announce himself as an Arsenal player. Not to worry though, as where better to enamour yourself to supporters than in a north London derby? He will start on Sunday and the events in Athens won’t constitute a change in the lineup for that fixture. It was purely for tactics on the night.

Rehabilitation also comes into play even if not specifically mentioned by Arteta. That’s another 60 minutes under his belt on the road to recovery and ensures he can be as fresh as feasible for the visit of Sp*rs.