- Partey voted Arsenal’s Player of the Match by fans
- Xhaka had been declared best player by Premier League
- Ghana midfielder had the highest rating against Spurs
WHAT HAPPENED? Partey’s midfield partner Granit Xhaka was voted the Man of the Match by the Premier League but the fans settled on the Ghana international, who scored Arsenal’s opening goal in stunning fashion at the Emirates Stadium.
Ben White found Partey at the edge of the box and the Black Stars midfielder fired into the top corner with his right foot to break the deadlock after 20 minutes against arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
WHAT DID THEY SAY? “It was a great goal. We knew before the game he was going to be free in those areas and we practised that a lot, to find him in those areas, and he made a great shot. I think he played a great game as well so a lot of credit to him, and of course the team,” Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard said after the match.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Partey had the highest rating in the game as he bossed the midfield with a 95 per cent pass accuracy after completing 52 of his 55 passes, won all his duels while making four interceptions.
He had two shots with one yielding the goal, the strike coming after 56 missed attempts outside the box, before Saturday’s match. Partey shook off injury concerns coming into the match, having pulled out of Ghana’s starting 11 against Brazil, as a precaution, before last month’s friendly encounter in France.
Arsenal fans had a difficult task picking their Man of the Match given Xhaka, scorer of the third goal, Bukayo Saka, who created five chances, and centre-back William Saliba all had excellent games.
WHAT NEXT FOR PARTEY? Mikel Arteta will be hoping that Partey stays fit ahead of a busy schedule that starts with Thursday’s Uefa Europa League game against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt before hosting Liverpool in a Premier League clash on Sunday.
