4 standout players from Arsenal’s Emirates Cup draw with AS Monaco

3. Thomas Partey

At the beginning of the summer, there were lots of rumours that Arsenal were looking to sell Thomas Partey. Based on his performance in this match, I’m glad he is still part of the squad.

With a 95.5% pass accuracy, Partey was calm and collected in the middle of the pitch. He hardly put a foot wrong and consistently got Arsenal on the attack. With the ball, he was flawless, dancing around Monaco players at will.

Defensively, he did look a bit stretched, but I think that had more to do with Emile Smith Rowe contributing less than he should have and Rice still finding his feet in that Xhaka role. ESR was a little sluggish, although he still found space between the lines. Hopefully, he will look sharper come the first day of the season.

Partey, though, was superb, and it looks impossible not to name him as the starting #6 against Nottingham Forest.

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