Arsenal: Thomas Partey has been both disappointing and destructive

Witnessing the pursuit of Houssem Aouar fall apart in the dying days of the summer transfer window, Arsenal had to act fast. Mikel Arteta’s number one target slipped through his fingers, prompting Thomas Partey’s £45m release clause to be activated. Pure ecstasy.

A crazy deadline day appeared to be heading towards crushing disappointment until it came to light early in the morning that the Ghanaian was making his way to north London, a move mooted for months but felt was beyond Arsenal’s financial reach.

No two ways about it, that signing has been, thus far, a poor one. That could change vs Villarreal.

Plagued by injuries amounting to longer spells on the sidelines than he’d had in his entire career pre-dating Arsenal, the troubles of the squad in the Premier League and those of his thighs have not culminated in £45m well spent. Securing a player who won’t have anywhere near that resale value when his contract expires on the money dished out had undoubted risk attached. But, equally, not signing him would have been a big risk.

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Arsenal see Thomas Partey both disappointing and destructive in debut season with Gunners

As of yet, Arsenal are yet to see that expenditure start paying itself off. A large portion of that comes down to 17 matches he’s missed in his debut campaign and the subsequent fixtures where he hasn’t been at full fitness. Any player coming into a new environment with the dearth of quality around them will need time to bed in, even without factoring the string of setbacks.

To exemplify how weak Arsenal are in the midfield department, Partey’s indifferent form coincides with him still being, by far, the most talented of his teammates in the centre of the park; the way he can glide across the pitch, drop a shoulder, carry through the thirds and be the shield in front of defence with exceptional positioning is testament to that.

So, with so many endearing qualities, what is the issue? Well, it comes down to how you frame it.

Some stinging criticism has been directed his way, stemming almost entirely from two aspects: shooting and inaccurate distribution.