Arsenal: 4 reasons behind worrying Thomas Partey form

4. Thomas Partey’s Fitness Levels Are Far From an Elite Level

Everyone has grown unfortunately accustomed to the injury issues that have plagued Partey’s career in north London. Having barely missed any action at all during his Atletico Madrid days, or indeed his whole career up until this point, the various niggles and setbacks have undoubtedly hindered his progress.

Beyond him just being absent there is also the burden of match fitness. Being passed fit is one thing. Actually hitting your peak physical level is another. Arsenal have been host to countless players who’ve been in and out of the team due to injury and many of them often required two, three, four or even more matches to get up to a level where they can make a positive impact.

Not being at his most elegantly bombastic self in recent outings, the two week absence he had from playing over the international break could well have set him back more than it would others.

His fitness has never been at an elite level. While he rarely missed out for Atletico with injury, in the three seasons prior to his move to Arsenal where he made 100 La Liga appearances, he only completed the 90 minutes on 55 occasions.

For a midfielder so heavily courted by Arsenal, this is something that will have come up during their research and was deemed was not factor worthy of pulling the plug. Seeing him blowing around the 75-80 minute mark is not solely an Arsenal thing.

So when he is out, the time it takes to return to the world class level he’s capable of is longer than it would be for others. As much as fitness doesn’t want to be used as an excuse, which it isn’t, it’s a historical data point that has existed throughout his career.

An elite footballer on his day, he can’t also be considered an elite athlete for this reason.

Conclusion: Is there one defining answer behind this perceived lack of form, or are there any number of combinations that contribute? It’s tough to say. But it’s hard to say any single reason is behind it, just as there is scope to suggest there is no actual dip in form and outside perception and expectations dictate the narrative.

What is for certain is that he is an inconsistent world class midfielder. Turning 29 years of age next summer, that’s unlikely to ever change.