Ghanaian international Thomas Partey is trending on social media after being an unused substitute in Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the Premier League.
The Blues went two goals up as Cole Palmer and Mykhaylo Mudryk scored to send Mauricio Pochettino's side to dreamland.
Nonetheless, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard scored for Arteta's men to ensure the game ended in a draw in a game where Chelsea looked to have thrown away three precious points.
Spoils shared in SW6.#CheArs pic.twitter.com/TW2BYF6UME
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 21, 2023
Why Arsenal fans demanded answers from Mikel Arteta
While trailing, several Arsenal fans called for Thomas Partey to be brought on to change the game.
However, these calls did not get to Arsenal's manager, who made five changes without bringing on the Black Stars defensive midfielder, who is not injured.
What’s Arteta’s issue with Thomas Partey? pic.twitter.com/7ydh4mp1cZ
— Gooner Chris (@ArsenalN7) October 21, 2023
On X, several fans from Ghana fired comments questioning the manager's team selection in the draw and calling for explanations as to why Partey was left out.
Some Thomas Partey comments on X
Here are just some of the comments:
“Why didn’t Partey play today? Arteta has some serious questions to answer?”
“What's Arteta's issue with Partey?”
“Where’s Partey to save Arsenal? Arsenal should have started Partey in this match”.
“Why in God's name is Arteta bringing on Havertz when Partey is around?.”
“Arteta starting Jorginho instead of Partey was the cause of Arsenal's downfall in the first half. Making this Chelsea team look like prime SAF's Man United”
Arteta's reaction after the match
Arteta praised Arsenal’s players for their “phenomenal” mental strength after they recovered from two goals down to earn a draw against Chelsea and maintain an unbeaten record at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League since 2018.
“We didn’t play with enough purpose and clarity in the first half but the way we reacted was phenomenal, I have no doubt about our character,” he said.
“I could see at half-time that we knew we had to do much better. I love that about the team. This is who we are.
“Even though we conceded in a situation like the goal of Mudryk, we kept going and they did exactly what we asked of them, that you never give up and we continued to go and go.
“We should have scored a goal earlier, we didn’t, but the team was always there to fight until the end. In the end, we got a point after a really difficult result and the way it started.”
The draw with Chelsea left Arsenal tied at the top of the table with Manchester City on 21 points.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 week ago
