Dear Arsenal fans, stop telling Thomas Partey to shoot

Thomas Partey has taken a massive step up in his game this calendar year with him, Granit Xhaka, and Martin Ødegaard all clicking for Arsenal at the same time being a huge part in the Gunners’ running success.

The Ghanaian gave a brutally honest assessment of himself in December, saying in an interview that his performances merited a “4/10” so far in his Arsenal career. This was harsh criticism, but the midfielder clearly has high demands for the level that he needs to be performing at. He has had bad luck with injuries so far into his time in north London and has yet to get that long run to develop the consistency everyone has wanted to see from him. Now that he is finally getting that, we are seeing the £50m signing from Atletico Madrid hit new heights for Arsenal.

Since the switch of the system to a 4-3-3 shape, Partey has been deputizing as a lone No. 6, a change from the double pivot system that was so often used since Arteta started as manager. Partey has flourished in this role of late, which has added a new level of dependability and control to Arsenal’s midfield.

Showing strength on the ball, good defensive qualities, a wide passing range, and the ability to evade pressure with ease, there is just one part of his game that has left a lot to be desired: his shooting.

Dear Arsenal fans, stop telling Thomas Partey to shoot as Ghanaian midfielder’s endless long range shots are more harmful than not

Partey has scored his first two Arsenal goals this season, however, they have not been the way that many would have expected. Both of his goals have come from headers in the six-yard box, which are far from the outside-the-box attempts at goal taken the most often by the midfielder.

Throughout his time at Arsenal, his average distance of his shots have been 22.6 yards, for an average of 0.05 xG per shot. These aren’t exactly surprising stats for anyone that watches Arsenal regularly, so why does he keep taking these low xG chances?

At least one factor, especially when playing at home, would be the fans. Many times, when Thomas gets into a position outside the opposing box, fans will scream “SHOOT” as Partey hits the ball into Row Z. It’s surprising that we are continuing to see these shots get taken. These shots often kill the flow of an attack and come nowhere near being on target, and this is my biggest frustration with them.

There are often outlets available in a stronger position to get a shot off when Thomas opts to take a 20-yard pop at goal, and it’s disappointing to see a good move ruined by a premature ballooned effort.

In watching every goal that Thomas scored in his career for Atletico Madrid, he scored some absolute wonder goals in his time in Spain.

"Mikel Arteta has said himself: “Some of the goals he scores in training, you would be amazed! You won’t believe me probably, so we have to see one of those soon get into the net!”"

Thomas has clearly shown the skill required to score these tough shots from outside the box, but it just hasn’t come together for him quite yet.

Another problem with Thomas’ shooting is the quantity of it. If you compare it to his midfield partner, Xhaka, Partey shoots almost double the amount Xhaka does per 90 minutes, with Partey registering 2.03 shots and Xhaka shooting 0.93 times, this despite Partey operating in a deeper role primarily for Arsenal.

This season they have very similar npxG per shot, Partey at 0.06 and Xhaka at  0.05. Again, this despite Xhaka shooting only 15 times this season compared to the 44 times for Partey. I wouldn’t mind Partey trying shots from outside the area occasionally, but his average of two shots per game is too high for the output that Arsenal has got from these attempts.

All in all, Arsenal fans, stop telling Thomas Partey to shoot. He will get his goal from outside the 18-yard box at some point for Arsenal – I’m sure of it – but as his numbers show, he clearly doesn’t need to be told to shoot more.

Thomas is a excellent midfielder and a key player in multiple ways for Arsenal and, hopefully, some day, he will finally get his long-range goal. But for now, best not to encourage him.

All stats courtesy of fbref.