Thomas Partey makes damning Arsenal admission

The knives were out for many members of the Arsenal team and coaching staff after the 3-2 defeat against Manchester United, with Thomas Partey key among them.

Struggling for form since sustaining an injury in the build-up to the 1-0 win over Watford, the Ghanaian has been playing a more reserved role in the side alongside Sambi Lokonga where he’s looked far from his best.

Operating more as a classic No. 6 is not in any way excusing the level of his performances, however. It’s the position he’s played for the majority of his career and sloppiness in possession as well as tentativeness in his decision making is all of his own doing.

Mikel Arteta has some interesting selections to make ahead of the Goodison Park trip as he weighs up changes across his side to account for injuries, rotation and form, with Partey missing out in midfield one such potential change.

Thomas Partey makes damning Arsenal admission ahead of Everton match by rating his performances for the club as 4/10

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Monday’s game, Partey was the first to admit he has been well below the standards he believes he can reach, offering a damning assessment of his own performances since making the £45m move to Arsenal 14 months ago.

"“I give myself four [out of 10], because there are moments I can really hurt the other team but there are also moments where I allow myself to lose focus and that’s when everything goes down,” he admitted. “This is when you realise that you have to get better.”“I think they [the fans] demanded more and personally I know I can give more. I have to keep working and at the end I will get the results.“From the defence to the attack, I can help the team a lot. I have to read more of the game. Now I am having a lot of continuous games, it is normal that some games, or some moments in the games, I will be down.“With more games, with more confidence, I will be able to get to where I want to be.”"

The most startling note in the whole interview was Partey saying that he hasn’t got to his best in certain situations as a result of not being fully ‘adapted’ to the Premier League.

While he has been severely let down by injuries and has had to adapt to various teammates in different systems, after 14 months that shouldn’t be used any some form of excuse. It can take a while to adjust to a completely different brand of football in a new league, especially since he moved to England in the height of the pandemic, but he’s had long enough from the footballing side of matters.

He has to improve substantially. Hearing him rate himself a measly 4/10 so far – his grade as a signing isn’t too far off that in fairness – is reassuring though, and it’s been well documented that he’s taking extra sessions to work on his fitness and has transformed his diet to help battle the setbacks.

Starting with Everton, there needs to be better on show.