All eyes were on Declan Rice when Arsenal took on Monaco in the Emirates Cup yesterday, but it was Thomas Partey who starred in midfield for the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta‘s side ended their pre-season with a hard-fought penalty shootout victory over the French giants. The Gunners were nowhere near their best yesterday, but fans got to see Rice make his home debut in the famous red and white.
Thomas Partey outshines Declan Rice in Arsenal vs Monaco
Mikel Arteta left plenty of his usual starters out of the starting lineup yesterday, but both Thomas Partey and Declan Rice were given the nod for Arsenal.
It was the Englishman’s first start as a Gunner at the Emirates, and every fan in the stadium was delighted to see him in the famous red and white.
Rice played in Granit Xhaka’s left-sided number eight role yesterday, and he had a very decent game. He got into some good areas, caused Monaco a few problems and almost scored.
It was not a bad performance at all considering it was just his second-ever start as an Arsenal player, but if you have to compare, Partey was much better yesterday.
The Ghanaian started in his usual number-six role and was fantastic. He was arguably the best player on the pitch in the first half, and he showed many what they seem to have forgotten – that he’s still a truly ‘fantastic‘ midfielder.
We really can see both Rice and Partey starting for Arsenal on a consistent basis this season.
Mikel Arteta has to keep him
There has been plenty of speculation around Thomas Partey’s Arsenal future over the last few weeks.
The Ghanaian is a wanted man, with numerous clubs from Saudi Arabia interested in his services, while Italian giants Juventus were said to be keen as well. Fabrizio Romano even claimed that Arsenal were willing to sell Partey (Here We Go Podcast), but after his performance in the middle of the park last night, Arteta shouldn’t even consider it.
Partey is one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe when he’s in form, and he was among the biggest reasons why Arsenal mounted a title challenge last season.
Rice may well be the superior player, but Partey was much better yesterday and it would be silly to let him leave this month.
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