3 reasons why Thomas Partey struggled against Southampton

3. Risk vs reward

A huge part of Arsenal’s build-up is the freedom Partey has to make high-risk decisions to play through the press. At West Ham, it went wrong and led to their penalty.

On Friday, we saw the same. A very poor flick in Arsenal’s defensive third led to a Southampton corner, which ultimately put them 3-1 up. Decisions like that need to be cut out, especially at key points of the game, or they will cost the team.

When things are going well, and he has the security of William Saliba and Gabriel, he can go for it, but when confidence is low, he needs to do the basics well in his own half.

But, the big question is: was he as bad as we thought, or was he doing two jobs at once?

He finished the game with 100 touches, 78/86 passes (91% completed), 7/13 ground duels won, four tackles and 9/12 long balls.

However, he was dribbled past four times, which is four times more than his average of one per game, and he made some questionable decisions in possession, particularly his shot from distance at 3-3 when Arsenal were pushing for a winner.

With that in mind, it was by no means a disaster, but more of an indicator that he can do better with his decision-making. He can bounce back, and City is the perfect time to start.