In the early stages of this season, Thomas Partey has been outstanding for Arsenal and is a key component of Mikel Arteta‘s midfield puzzle.
The 29-year-old’s influence, when he is selected for the starting lineup, serves as the best example of this.
Partey has appeared in 29 of Arsenal’s last 46 Premier League games. Arsenal only won 8 of the 17 games he missed, and won 21 of the 29 games he played in.
Just take this season as a better illustration of his importance to the London side.
The injury-prone midfielder missed the game against Manchester United, leading to Arsenal’s only loss in the Premier League thus far.
Then during the break came another issue, with his knee, but the player was cleared in time for the derby against Spurs.
Partey proved why Arteta values him so heavily. It was his well-taken goal that gave Arsenal the lead, and boy what a goal it was.
Mikel Arteta, like the rest of Arsenal fans, was absolutely delighted to see the Ghanaian finally net a long-range goal for the Gunners.
“It was a great finish, we’ve been waiting for that one. The whole crowd has been “shoot, shoot” for a long time. For what he’s been through and the injuries and the effort he’s put in to be available for the team, I’m so happy for him. He deserves it.”
This quote, however, has stirred quite a controversy. The use of the term “what he’s been through” has been put under scrutiny on Twitter.
How are people reacting?
Turns out, by “what he’s been through”, Arteta may have been referring to the alleged criminal charges that Partey recently faced.
These allegations surfaced in July this year. His then-girlfriend Sarah Bella and another woman came out in public, accusing the Ghanaian of rape.
However, these are unproven allegations, as the player could not be tried due to a loophole in the justice system.
The law, which would allow for Thomas Partey to be held and tried, was only bought 10 days after the alleged abuse took place, meaning no action could be taken.
The Spaniard caught flak for a similar incident back in August and is under fire again for his comments after the NLD win.
The language used by Arteta in the interview has particularly irked Twitter.
We could understand that if the allegations were proven false or are, indeed false, then what he has been through is certainly warranted.
Maybe Arteta thinks “innocent until proven guilty”, but it is a difficult situation to be in in this case because the truth may never come out.
Here is the video of the quote for those who want to decide for themselves.
