Mikel Arteta has now praised one Arsenal ace who ‘stepped up’ in the Gunners’ 5-0 thrashing of London rival Chelsea during Tuesday night’s win in the Premier League.
The north London giants showed the clear gap in quality between Arteta’s title-chasing team and Mauricio Pochettino’s billion-pound side. Goals by Leandro Trossard (4’), Ben White (52’, 70’) and Kai Havertz (57’, 65’) broke Chelsea as Arsenal, who should have had more, ran riot.
Arsenal now sit three points above Liverpool, who visit Everton this Wednesday night, at the top of the table. Three-time defending Premier League champions Manchester City are four points behind the Gunners, as well. But Pep Guardiola’s Citizens boast two matches in hand.
Mikel Arteta praises Thomas Partey for ‘stepping up’ as Arsenal beat Chelsea
Chelsea had thrashed Everton 6-0 in their previous Premier League fixture before losing 1-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals ahead of visiting Arsenal. The way Pochettino’s side have played in recent weeks also convinced Arteta to recall Thomas Partey on Tuesday.
It marked just Partey’s fifth start in the top-flight this term over 10 appearances following an injury-plagued campaign. The 30-year-old made three of his starts in August as a right-back before sustaining a groin injury and later sustained a thigh injury during training in October.
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Partey made just one appearance in the Premier League for 15 minutes between his injuries as Arsenal beat Manchester City. His thigh injury proved to be worse than the club expected and necessitated surgery, before the Ghana star missed AFCON after further aggravations.
Thomas Partey made his fifth Premier League start in an injury-plagued season
Arteta only welcomed Partey back from his thigh injury as Arsenal thrashed Sheffield United 6-0 in March. The Spaniard also gave the midfielder his first start since August as they beat Luton Town 2-0 earlier in April. But Partey struggled to build on his start with further games.
Yet the way that Chelsea play convinced Arteta to start Partey as Arsenal hosted their rival at Emirates Stadium. The Spaniard also feels the 45-cap anchor justified a spot in the Gunners’ XI with his display. It was also a performance that Arteta even claims Arsenal have ‘missed’.
“We thought it was a really good game for Thomas to come back,” Arteta shared in his post-match press conference after Arsenal thrashed Chelsea 5-0. “He looks like he is in rhythm.
“He trained really well the last few days, the way that they set up, the players that they have in and the way they attack especially, we believe it was the right call to make. He stepped up and had a great performance and was really important for the team.”
He added: “We have missed Thomas, that’s true, since August and he’s a big player for us.”