3 reasons why Thomas Partey struggled against Southampton

Arsenal were once again humbled in their pursuit of the Premier League title as they succumbed to a 3-3 draw against Southampton at Emirates Stadium, and Thomas Partey came in for particular criticism.

All season, Partey has been a critical cog in the Arsenal machine, but since the international break, he hasn’t been at his best.

Was he as bad as many thought against the Saints?

3 reasons why Thomas Partey struggled against Southampton

1. Positional changes from Arteta

Following the draw at West Ham, Arteta reacted and made a tweak to the system, with Partey asked to drop between Gabriel and Rob Holding to start the build-up.

This may have given Arsenal more security at the back, but it left a hole in midfield where he was trying to cover two positions and large passing distances between him and his midfield partners.

Southampton took full advantage of this by pressing Arsenal throughout the first half, which prevented him and Oleksandr Zinchenko from playing their usual short-distance football and evading the press.

This tactic proved harmful rather than beneficial, as Holding was taking too many touches in the absence of a dominant Partey in front of him.

As Southampton withdrew in the second half, that tactic fizzled out, but when it mattered most, it heavily impacted Arsenal’s play.

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2.  Xhaka’s absence was massive

In his three seasons at Arsenal, Partey has played his best football when Granit Xhaka has been in the team and, at times, they have carried each other.

When times get tough, Xhaka’s positional understanding helps Arsenal manage the pressure, as he can drop deep into a double pivot when defending, or cover at left back when Zinchenko bounces around the pitch.

With Fabio Vieira, Arsenal lacked that intelligence. It is no coincidence that the last time that change occurred (Bournemouth at home) Partey had an equally poor first half, and was guilty of not tracking his man for both of their goals.

On Friday, it wasn’t about tracking, but having a reliable teammate to show for the ball when he had the ball and get stuck in at the times his team needed it, and Partey suffered as a result.

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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.