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ESPN pundit tears into Thomas Partey after Arsenal draw at West Ham
Shaka Hislop has criticised Thomas Partey after Arsenal drew with West Ham on Sunday, insisting that there was absolutely no need for the mistake which led to the home side getting back into the game.
Hislop was after the Gunners threw away a 2-0 lead for a second week running to leave the door ever so slightly open for Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
The draw against Liverpool was understandable given the quality the Reds still possess and the fact that the game was being played at Anfield.
But Arsenal fans will struggle to look at their trip to the London Stadium anywhere near as positively. The Gunners were once again superb in the opening minutes, powering into what appeared to be a comfortable lead.
Partey criticised as Arsenal slip up again
But West Ham managed to fight back. And the catalyst for that arguably came from Arsenal themselves.
You could see the confidence flowing through Mikel Arteta’s side. And that seemed to border on overconfidence as Declan Rice steamed in to win the ball off Thomas Partey before West Ham went on to win a penalty.
Some Arsenal fans seem unhappy that a penalty was given amid questions over whether Rice handled the ball. But there is no doubt that Partey made a real error, trying to lift the ball over the West Ham captain so casually when he was initially in no danger.
And Hislop suggested that Partey’s mistake was a key reason Arsenal threw another lead away.
“It’s again, senior players making errors in key parts of the park that are costing Arsenal,” . “Now, while you can say this is the way Arsenal play, this is way Arteta wants them to play and we’ve sung their praises when they do and they get the rewards for it; at 2-0 up, there’s absolutely no need for Thomas Partey to attempt whatever it is that he was attempting – just in the same way there was absolutely no need for Granit Xhaka to be picking a fight at 2-0 up last week.”
Partey did not cost Arsenal on his own. The Gunners could probably sense the atmosphere turning at the London Stadium and decided to put themselves in cruise control.
The problem was that West Ham had some fight left in them. And by the time Arsenal had been woken up, the damage had started to be done and the tide was turning.
Jamie Carragher suggested that Sunday was the worst he had seen Partey play. And Arsenal now have a massive point to prove with the pressure now on.