Thomas Partey has now revealed the secret behind Arsenal’s success against Chelsea after the Gunners’ 5-0 triumph.
Arsenal were in scintillating form as they put Chelsea to the sword at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Kai Havertz came back to haunt his former club with a well-taken brace, whilst Martin Odegaard dazzled Arsenal fans with his creativity.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta’s side were able to keep their 16th Premier League clean sheet of the season so far, and match a defensive record previously set by Arsene Wenger’s team in 2017 in the process.
This win extended Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League table. Liverpool and Manchester City will now be feeling the pressure to keep pace with the North London club.
All Arsenal can do now is keep winning in order to take this title race down to the wire. Arteta will be hoping that he can rely on Thomas Partey to keep contributing for the remainder of the campaign.
The Ghanaian midfielder started just his fifth league match of the season so far against Chelsea, and impressed alongside Declan Rice in the middle of the park.
How Thomas Partey elevated Arsenal performance in Chelsea win
Arteta was finally able to field Partey and Rice alongside one another against the Blues, having surely foreseen this is as his preferred midfield duo prior to the campaign getting underway. Partey’s recurrent injury issues have robbed the Gunners of this potential partnership.
The potential that Rice and Partey boast as a combination was obvious against Chelsea. The 30-year-old’s presence at the base of the midfield trio afforded the former West Ham man more license to get forward. Meanwhile, Odegaard could operate with absolute freedom, knowing that both Rice and Partey would be on hand to tidy up should he give the ball away.
Partey is also able to help the Gunners in the final third himself, as he excels in playing penetrative vertical passes forward between the lines. Arsenal are more direct, and build attacks more quickly, with him on the pitch.
Thomas Partey lifts lid on Arsenal gameplan for Chelsea clash
After the match, Partey provided an insight into how Arsenal prepared for this match. As quoted by the club’s official website, he said “It was a very good game, we went all out from the beginning because we knew how important this game was. If we don’t approach it right we are not able to win, but we did everything right and I’m really proud of the squad.”
Arsenal did indeed fly out of the blocks against the Blues, which was clearly by design, as Leandro Trossard put the hosts ahead with just four minutes on the clock. Partey himself played a role in that goal.
