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Ferdinand left amazed by pace of Thomas Partey in Arsenal win
Rio Ferdinand has told that he was taken aback during Arsenal’s win over Manchester United after seeing Thomas Partey burst past Antony at one stage, as he criticised the Brazilian’s performance.
Mikel Arteta’s men picked up another amazing victory to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table. Eddie Nketiah scored twice, either side of Bukayo Saka’s superb strike from distance to earn the Gunners the three points.
United can take encouragement from pushing the league leaders so close. They took the lead through Marcus Rashford. And they made the scoreline 2-2 during the second-half, with Lisandro Martinez scoring a header.
Ferdinand amazed by Partey after Arsenal beat Manchester United
One player who had a difficult time at the Emirates was Antony. The summer signing has shown glimpses of his quality since his move from the Netherlands. But he has not scored in the top-flight since early October.
He failed to make much of an impact on Sunday. And Ferdinand outlined how he was left baffled by one moment involving Antony and Partey.
“I’ve seen clips of him when he was at Ajax and he was somebody that used to beat people,” .
“I saw Partey – who I wouldn’t put down as a roadster, a sprinter – absolutely burst past him. And I’m thinking: ‘wow, he hasn’t got much power in those legs’.”
Of course, you can focus on Antony’s struggles. But you must also give some credit to Partey. It is no surprise that the Gunners are enjoying a better year this time around.
Before this season, Partey made 18 and 23 starts in his previous two league campaigns for Arsenal. This time around however, he is already on 16 starts. So he is likely to play, by far, the most football of his spell.
He brings such a balance to the Arsenal side. The defence have much greater support. And the likes of Granit Xhaka, Martin Odegaard and Ben White have greater license to get forward when Partey is in the middle of the park.