Thomas Partey: Footballing Performance Thread

[Tir Na Nog]

Ndidi is class on this position though. Should go for him instead of Youri.

I don't think he ticks some of the boxes like press evasion, certainly not to the degree Partey does. He's better defensively but I think Mik is prioritising the on the ball part of the job for his 6.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

View attachment 8545

It was so funny when he was having a go at Saka, because he said it sort of jokingly but you just there was an element of truth behind it.

 

[Trilly]

It was so funny when he was having a go at Saka, because he said it sort of jokingly but you just there was an element of truth behind it.

100% 🤣

 

[BergMan]

Partey was making impressive turns which wooed the crowd but followed it up with poor passes. The ability to turn under pressure is kind of overrated, espescially when it’s such a risky manoeuvre and not every attempt succeeds. Does Rodri turn like that? I’m not so sure. I much prefer players comfortable on the ball who can pass their way out of pressure, but of course, it needs the help of your teammates movement to provide options, it’s not about going solo.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Partey was making impressive turns which wooed the crowd but followed it up with poor passes. The ability to turn under pressure is kind of overrated, espescially when it’s such a risky manoeuvre and not every attempt succeeds. Does Rodri turn like that? I’m not so sure. I much prefer players comfortable on the ball who can pass their way out of pressure, but of course, it needs the help of your teammates movement to provide options, it’s not about going solo.

How do you rate Xhaka's ability to turn under pressure?

 

[BergMan]

How do you rate Xhaka's ability to turn under pressure?

He doesn’t do it, he’s a passer. The Rodri, Jorginho etc type. At other times he will try to win a foul, which is very helpful too.

 

[Jury]

He doesn’t do it, he’s a passer. The Rodri, Jorginho etc type. At other times he will try to win a foul, which is very helpful too.

He can’t pass for **** under pressure. I can show you evidence of that but there is no better evidence than to point to where Arteta has dumped the pointy shouty cheerleader. We don’t have to worry about that nearly as much now because we’ve got Partey. Over the stretch though, as was proven last season, Xhaka won’t give you anywhere near enough and that’s firmly on the shoulders of Mikel.

 

[BergMan]

He can’t pass for **** under pressure. I can show you evidence of that but there is no better evidence than to point to where Arteta has dumped the pointy shouty cheerleader. We don’t have to worry about that nearly as much now because we’ve got Partey. Over the stretch though, as was proven last season, Xhaka won’t give you anywhere near enough and that’s firmly on the shoulders of Mikel.

Should be in the Xhaka thread but if you insist:

That’s a small sample of his great passing ability as a 6.

 

[Jury]

Should be in the Xhaka thread but if you insist:

That’s a small sample of his great passing ability as a 6.

That’s just a Xhaka passing compilation that’s taken 7 years to build ffs 🤣 Have him receiving the ball in his last third and he turns to jelly 👍🏼

 

[SA Gunner]

How do you rate Xhaka's ability to turn under pressure?

He cant consistently turn under pressure, that's why he has been a target for the press if he is played alone in that role, without any passing options.

But that isnt really a problem anymore.

The question you should be asking yourself is why Xhaka doesnt get caught out like that anymore, in fact when was the last time we saw that happen to him. Now, you could answer it by saying that he plays further up the field, but that's not always the case.. because he does drop deep to assist with build up, or goes into the space left by Zinchenko/Tierney for time and space to distribute.

The answer to why Xhaka isnt seen as a danger anymore is because of the compact, well spaced, system which provides players all around the ball now, during almost every phase of possessional play.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

He cant consistently turn under pressure, that's why he has been a target for the press if he is played alone in that role, without any passing options.

But that isnt really a problem anymore.

The question you should be asking yourself is why Xhaka doesnt get caught out like that anymore, in fact when was the last time we saw that happen to him. Now, you could answer it by saying that he plays further up the field, but that's not always the case.. because he does drop deep to assist with build up, or goes into the space left by Zinchenko/Tierney for time and space to distribute.

The answer to why Xhaka isnt seen as a danger anymore is because of the compact, well spaced, system which provides players all around the ball now, during almost every phase of possessional play.

Tbh it wasn't really a serious question to @BergMan I was just having fun with him since he's a world class fanboy.

I do agree with a lot of what you posted tho FWIW.

 

[SA Gunner]

Tbh it wasn't really a serious question to @BergMan I was just having fun with him since he's a world class fanboy.

I do agree with a lot of what you posted tho FWIW.

I got you bud

He's not perfect of course, I myself have pulled my hair out at times as a result of him being caught out and us suffering in the process.

And Im sure he'll be the reason I curse at my TV again this season

 

[Taylor Gang Gunners]

Partey is an excellent player who’s key for us. I love his agility in his deeper role, he can wriggle out of challenges nicely and he’s a fairly skilful player.

What I don’t like is his lapses in concentration when passing. It happens too often. He needs to utilise the safe option when needed, I like the way he can feed the ball through the lines but sometimes he ends up giving away possession needlessly.

Cut down on the shooting and be more conservative with passing- then we get the star we know we have on a consistent basis.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Partey is an excellent player who’s key for us. I love his agility in his deeper role, he can wriggle out of challenges nicely and he’s a fairly skilful player.

What I don’t like is his lapses in concentration when passing. It happens too often. He needs to utilise the safe option when needed, I like the way he can feed the ball through the lines but sometimes he ends up giving away possession needlessly.

Cut down on the shooting and be more conservative with passing- then we get the star we know we have on a consistent basis.

Completely agree. He was criticised for moving the ball too quickly vs Palace (perhaps because of the booing, dunno) but this is actually what I want from him. He isn't a distributor, so just tick it along and keep easy possession.

 

[blrgooner]

Partey was making impressive turns which wooed the crowd but followed it up with poor passes. The ability to turn under pressure is kind of overrated, espescially when it’s such a risky manoeuvre and not every attempt succeeds. Does Rodri turn like that? I’m not so sure. I much prefer players comfortable on the ball who can pass their way out of pressure, but of course, it needs the help of your teammates movement to provide options, it’s not about going solo.

Completely agree with this. The traits like "press resistance" and "ability to turn under pressure" are kind overblown to some extent. They are great traits to have for sure but like "dribbles completed" and "key passes", they are actually attacking traits. When Partey is able to implement a quick turn or when he evades press using his physique, he opens up space in front of him which an opposition player has to fill and this leads to our attacking players having more space to attack.
Having said that, these are not really "must have" traits. Just like in the case of dribbles your number of dribbles is a small fraction of the number of touches, the number of times you actually evade the opposition press and turn under pressure is maybe 2-3 times in a game even for the best players. This is not a sustainable mode for a team to use to advance play all the time. Rodri,Jorginho etc are players who don`t really do this but manage to advance play using passing and movement which is a far more sustainable way to keep control and possession. This is where we are weak in the midfield. We need a player who can see the pitch and take good decisions to keep control of the game.

Just to add some stats to this perspective, Rodri has 103 touches per 90 in the first 2 games, The number itself may be more a function of the way the team plays, but what is important to consider is that it is very close to the number of touches defenders had and in a few cases more than them (Dias-104, Ake-105,Walker 98.4 and Cancelo 116). The attacking players in front for Rodri had much fewer touches (Gundogan 71,KDB 69, Foden 69). This is a clear template of a team which has control over the game.

If we look at Arsenal stats for the same 2 games, Partey had 59 touches per game, its kinda close to the defenders to some extent (Gabriel 65, Zinchenko 69 and White 60) but its also very close to the attacking players (Xhaka 58, Ødegaard 51,Saka 48, Jesus 49). For me , this indicates that there is not enough interpassing among the lone 6 and the defenders which could help us in moving the game to the opposition half which would in turn help us keep control of the game. Instead we try to move the ball to the attacking players quickly far too often and this leads them to be isolated and results in more turnovers and less possession.
That is pretty much what my eye test says too, We need a player in the midfield who can just pass and move into space and use this to control the tempo of the game.

 

[Mitch]

Shartey has been s-h-i-t-e for us.

 

[BergMan]

Completely agree with this. The traits like "press resistance" and "ability to turn under pressure" are kind overblown to some extent. They are great traits to have for sure but like "dribbles completed" and "key passes", they are actually attacking traits. When Partey is able to implement a quick turn or when he evades press using his physique, he opens up space in front of him which an opposition player has to fill and this leads to our attacking players having more space to attack.
Having said that, these are not really "must have" traits. Just like in the case of dribbles your number of dribbles is a small fraction of the number of touches, the number of times you actually evade the opposition press and turn under pressure is maybe 2-3 times in a game even for the best players. This is not a sustainable mode for a team to use to advance play all the time. Rodri,Jorginho etc are players who don`t really do this but manage to advance play using passing and movement which is a far more sustainable way to keep control and possession. This is where we are weak in the midfield. We need a player who can see the pitch and take good decisions to keep control of the game.

Just to add some stats to this perspective, Rodri has 103 touches per 90 in the first 2 games, The number itself may be more a function of the way the team plays, but what is important to consider is that it is very close to the number of touches defenders had and in a few cases more than them (Dias-104, Ake-105,Walker 98.4 and Cancelo 116). The attacking players in front for Rodri had much fewer touches (Gundogan 71,KDB 69, Foden 69). This is a clear template of a team which has control over the game.

If we look at Arsenal stats for the same 2 games, Partey had 59 touches per game, its kinda close to the defenders to some extent (Gabriel 65, Zinchenko 69 and White 60) but its also very close to the attacking players (Xhaka 58, Ødegaard 51,Saka 48, Jesus 49). For me , this indicates that there is not enough interpassing among the lone 6 and the defenders which could help us in moving the game to the opposition half which would in turn help us keep control of the game. Instead we try to move the ball to the attacking players quickly far too often and this leads them to be isolated and results in more turnovers and less possession.
That is pretty much what my eye test says too, We need a player in the midfield who can just pass and move into space and use this to control the tempo of the game.

Good post. Although I’d say that the player you’re looking for must also be strong physically, on the ground and in the air.

 

[The_Playmaker]

Completely agree with this. The traits like "press resistance" and "ability to turn under pressure" are kind overblown to some extent. They are great traits to have for sure but like "dribbles completed" and "key passes", they are actually attacking traits. When Partey is able to implement a quick turn or when he evades press using his physique, he opens up space in front of him which an opposition player has to fill and this leads to our attacking players having more space to attack.
Having said that, these are not really "must have" traits. Just like in the case of dribbles your number of dribbles is a small fraction of the number of touches, the number of times you actually evade the opposition press and turn under pressure is maybe 2-3 times in a game even for the best players. This is not a sustainable mode for a team to use to advance play all the time. Rodri,Jorginho etc are players who don`t really do this but manage to advance play using passing and movement which is a far more sustainable way to keep control and possession. This is where we are weak in the midfield. We need a player who can see the pitch and take good decisions to keep control of the game.

Just to add some stats to this perspective, Rodri has 103 touches per 90 in the first 2 games, The number itself may be more a function of the way the team plays, but what is important to consider is that it is very close to the number of touches defenders had and in a few cases more than them (Dias-104, Ake-105,Walker 98.4 and Cancelo 116). The attacking players in front for Rodri had much fewer touches (Gundogan 71,KDB 69, Foden 69). This is a clear template of a team which has control over the game.

If we look at Arsenal stats for the same 2 games, Partey had 59 touches per game, its kinda close to the defenders to some extent (Gabriel 65, Zinchenko 69 and White 60) but its also very close to the attacking players (Xhaka 58, Ødegaard 51,Saka 48, Jesus 49). For me , this indicates that there is not enough interpassing among the lone 6 and the defenders which could help us in moving the game to the opposition half which would in turn help us keep control of the game. Instead we try to move the ball to the attacking players quickly far too often and this leads them to be isolated and results in more turnovers and less possession.
That is pretty much what my eye test says too, We need a player in the midfield who can just pass and move into space and use this to control the tempo of the game.

I think there is an element to where we want to control the game, but I don't think it is in the manner of City. City retain the ball and are very precise and controlled in what they do.

I think we take more risks and are happy to create more transitions and opportunities to counter press.

Moving the ball through the thirds quickly allows wingers to isolate their fullbacks.

Arteta clearly is influenced by Pep, but I am seeing more Wenger in the manner we attack around the box. Players have freedom to express themselves. They don't under Pep. We have a similar structure in terms of positional build up, but that's as far as it goes.

 

[Geofranco]

Completely agree with this. The traits like "press resistance" and "ability to turn under pressure" are kind overblown to some extent. They are great traits to have for sure but like "dribbles completed" and "key passes", they are actually attacking traits. When Partey is able to implement a quick turn or when he evades press using his physique, he opens up space in front of him which an opposition player has to fill and this leads to our attacking players having more space to attack.
Having said that, these are not really "must have" traits. Just like in the case of dribbles your number of dribbles is a small fraction of the number of touches, the number of times you actually evade the opposition press and turn under pressure is maybe 2-3 times in a game even for the best players. This is not a sustainable mode for a team to use to advance play all the time. Rodri,Jorginho etc are players who don`t really do this but manage to advance play using passing and movement which is a far more sustainable way to keep control and possession. This is where we are weak in the midfield. We need a player who can see the pitch and take good decisions to keep control of the game.

Just to add some stats to this perspective, Rodri has 103 touches per 90 in the first 2 games, The number itself may be more a function of the way the team plays, but what is important to consider is that it is very close to the number of touches defenders had and in a few cases more than them (Dias-104, Ake-105,Walker 98.4 and Cancelo 116). The attacking players in front for Rodri had much fewer touches (Gundogan 71,KDB 69, Foden 69). This is a clear template of a team which has control over the game.

If we look at Arsenal stats for the same 2 games, Partey had 59 touches per game, its kinda close to the defenders to some extent (Gabriel 65, Zinchenko 69 and White 60) but its also very close to the attacking players (Xhaka 58, Ødegaard 51,Saka 48, Jesus 49). For me , this indicates that there is not enough interpassing among the lone 6 and the defenders which could help us in moving the game to the opposition half which would in turn help us keep control of the game. Instead we try to move the ball to the attacking players quickly far too often and this leads them to be isolated and results in more turnovers and less possession.
That is pretty much what my eye test says too, We need a player in the midfield who can just pass and move into space and use this to control the tempo of the game.

Man if Patino was 23 years old and fully developed physically and tactically, he would fit the role you described perfectly. He is more mobile than Xhaka and always on the move looking to control tempo. Patino's already one of the best passers on the team in terms of technique.

 

[dka1]

Shartey has been s-h-i-t-e for us.

Fair enough you think Partey is sh!t but atleast keep the same consistent energy in calling him sh!t in this thread when he's performing well 🤷‍♂️