Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey was partly at fault for West Ham’s opening goal in the 2-2 draw at the weekend.
The Ghanaian tried to flick the ball past Declan Rice, only for the West Ham captain to intercept it and deliver a cutback to Lucas Paqueta, who won a penalty.
Partey was unsettled by the error and he picked up a booking minutes later. He was then replaced midway through the second half. Fans on Twitter didn’t hold back in their criticism of the player after the match:
Pure arrogance and nonchalance. We’ve fully blown it
— Ayọ̀mídé (@Ayomide_24) April 16, 2023
Worst game in an Arsenal shirt by some margin
— Ross (@RCNIAFC) April 16, 2023
Partey was poor all match.
— ⚽️ OnTheStoop w/Lølø ⚽️ (@OnTheStoopLolo) April 16, 2023
Stopped playing and claimed for a handball as well 🤦🏽♂️
— Swre (@SwaeKL) April 16, 2023
Our “experienced” players again
— Abdullah Naqi (@AbdulIahNaqi) April 16, 2023
Ridiculous in that area. Everyone going on about a possible handball, a possible dive for the pen, but that all came from Partey trying to be too clever. I'm one of his biggest fans, but that was very poor.
— AK Arsenal (@akarsenalnews) April 16, 2023
Partey does these things too often today was flicks other day it's too ambitious vertical passes doesn't understand how to slow down game
— Sarcastic_Gooner (@Exlblaze666) April 16, 2023
He tried to be Patrick Vieira…
— PG (@ThePGee) April 16, 2023
As some pundits have pointed out, Partey wouldn’t have dreamed of trying what he did in close proximity to Rice if the score was 0-0. As it was 2-0, though, it appears he was slightly complacent.
The mistake allowed West Ham back into the game and, with the Gunners going on to drop two points, it remains to be seen how costly the error will be in terms of their title challenge.
