Former Arsenal player Thomas Partey charged with two further counts of rape as statement issued

The Crown Prosecution Service has now authorised two additional counts of rape against Partey. An official statement reads: “These new charges relate to a separate report of non-recent offences in 2020 involving one additional woman and follow a new investigation by the Metropolitan Police. These allegations were first reported in August 2025.”

The new allegations will see Partey appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, March 13. During an appearance at Southwark Crown Court in September 2025, the Ghana international pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and one charge of sexual assault.

Those alleged offences took place between 2021 and 2022, with Partey having signed for Arsenal in October 2020. He was a first-team regular for the Gunners at the time, with 167 appearances for the Premier League club being taken in across five seasons.

Partey was charged four days after his contract with Arsenal came to an end in the summer of 2025. He is currently on bail and is due to face trial over the original allegations on November 2, 2026.

The conditions of Partey’s bail do not prevent him from playing professional football. He is barred from contacting any of the complainants and must notify police of any international travel 24 hours prior to his departure.

He is due to head to North America this summer for the 2026 World Cup. With 56 international caps to his name, Partey remains part of Ghana’s squad. They are set to face England in Boston on June 23.

His club form has not been the best during the 2025-26 campaign, with Villarreal boss Marcelino Garcia Toral saying of a player that has struggled to justify the faith shown in him: “I think there's a world of difference between the Thomas we knew at Arsenal and this one. A world of difference.”

He said of Partey early in the season, with performance levels expected to improve: “It's very difficult to play at this pace in today's football. So, I think it's been six months now, and that's enough time for this player to show us what he was or what he's showing now.”

Partey signed a one-year contract when joining Villarreal, with those terms set to expire at the end of June.