Arsenal Football Club are in for a tense few weeks as the end of the season draws ever nearer. They are currently top of the Premier League with 77 points, although Manchester City have two games in hand, and will go top if they win both.
Their elimination from the Champions League last week at the hands of Bayern Munich was frustrating, but the silver lining is that it gives the Gunners a chance to fully focus on their ambitions to win the league.
Luckily for Mikel Arteta, injuries have not ravaged his side like they have others, although a few key players have been struck down with injury issues that have kept them out the entirety of the season so far.
Jurrien Timber, who suffered an ACL injury in August, made a return to action with the academy of late, where he scored a stunning goal. The Dutchman will be hoping to play for the first team again this season.
However, Timber is not the only important player returning to action for the Gunners. There is one man who has recently recovered from injury who could massively benefit Arsenal in their quest for Premier League glory this season.
Thomas Partey game vs Chelsea in numbers
The man in question here is midfielder Thomas Partey. The 30-year-old has missed 26 games in total for Arsenal this season, thanks to two separate injuries over the course of 143 days according to Transfermarkt.
Recently, Partey has slowly begun to build back his match fitness. He put in a key performance against Chelsea on Tuesday evening, in what was just his second start since his latest injury, with the other coming against Luton.
According to Sofascore, the Ghanaian completed 86% of his passes, playing two key passes and two long balls. However, it was off the ball where he really impressed, winning two ground duels, 100% of his aerial duels, making three interceptions and winning his only attempted tackle.
Partey’s performance was so impressive that it earned an 8/10 rating from Kaya Kaynak, Football.London’s chief Arsenal writer. He explained Partey was “impressive in the build-up and defensively” and that he gave “freedom” to the likes of Declan Rice, allowing his midfield partner to get forward and impact Arsenal’s final third actions.
How Partey brings the best out of Odegaard
It certainly is a timely return to action for Partey. Considering Arsenal’s ongoing title aspirations, they need as big of a squad as possible, and having a midfield option like Partey available is only a benefit for Arteta.
In playing Partey at the base of the midfield, both Rice and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard get plenty of freedom. Partey gives both players a licence to get more involved in the final third and have fewer defensive responsibilities.
Rice’s final third play is largely quite underrated. In the Premier League this season, he averages 7.01 final third passes per 90 minutes according to Fbref, placing him in the top 7% of midfielders, according to Fbref.
Rice’s six Premier League goals this season are bettered by only three midfielders; Douglas Luiz with nine, Odegaard with eight and Rodri with seven, as per WhoScored. He certainly has a big impact both in front of goal and creatively for the Gunners in the final third. With Partey behind him, Rice can get forward often and make his team more dangerous in the final third.
There is little doubt that Odegaard is Arsenal’s main creative force in the final third, at least from central areas. Partey allows the Norwegian to forget lots of his defensive responsibilities and just impact the game in the final third.
As far as progressive, creative midfielders go, you will struggle to find many better than Odegaard. According to Fbref, he averages 9.28 progressive passes per 90 minutes and 3.19 passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes, which place him in the top 4% and 1% of Premier League midfielders respectively.
On top of that, Odegaard’s sheer creative numbers are elite. The 25-year-old averages 2.73 key passes per 90 minutes, ranking him in the top 3% of Premier League midfielders, and his eight assists this season are bettered only by Bukayo Saka. Playing Partey frees Odegaard completely, and makes Arsenal a much more dangerous side in the final third. As a consequence, he should be undroppable for the games that remain.
This is not the first time this season in which Arteta has tried a deep-lying midfielder behind Rice and Odegaard, thus giving them licence to get forward and attack. The Spaniard has played Jorginho as a lone number six at times, however, there is a clear difference between the two players and the roles they played in this instance.
How Partey compares to Jorginho
Partey played more along the lines of a defensive midfield destroyer against Chelsea. Whilst he is not bad on the ball, the 30-year-old is a great ball-winner out of possession. However, Jorginho’s role was more in line with that of a regista, a role in which he has particularly excelled under Maurizio Sarri during his career. Indeed, whilst the Italian international is not a bad ball-winner, it is his in-possession abilities which shine through.
According to Fbref, Partey averaged 3.55 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes in the Premier League last season, which ranks him in the 69th percentile. In comparison, Jorginho has just 1.08 tackles and interceptions this season, placing him in the 61st percentile. There is not a major difference, but Partey does excel.
As per Fbref, Jorginho’s 9.88 progressive passes per 90 minutes rank him in the top 1% of Premier League midfielders this season. In comparison, Partey averages slightly less, with 8.37 progressive passes per 90 minutes last season, ranking him in the top 4% of Premier League midfielders.
The difference is not stark, but each player is certainly better suited to the aforementioned roles. Partey’s ball-winning ability makes Arsenal a tougher side to break down, and he is able to stop counterattacks due to his ability to break up play. However, with Jorginho in the side, Arsenal may well find it easier to break down an opposition side who are defending in a low block.
It is really important for Arteta that he has Partey back to full fitness at this stage of the season. He now has more options for the base of his midfield, and could also choose to play Rice in that role. As the Premier League season reaches its climax, Arteta will no doubt be hoping that a more versatile squad will help his side do all they can in order to stay in the hunt for the title.
Arsenal star who destroyed Chelsea did something we've not seen since 2017
The Arsenal star proved he’s their best player against Chelsea.
ByTom LeverApr 24, 2024