Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey was integral to Arsenal in Tuesday night’s Champions League second league phase game as they beat PSG 2-0 at the Emirates, laying aside his recent injury-ridden campaigns.
Partey helped Arsenal qualify for the Champions league two seasons ago, for the first time since 2017, when they finished as runners-up in the league to Manchester City.
Arsenal were eventually eliminated from the quarter-finals of last season’s competition after suffering a 3-2 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich.
The Ghana midfielder sat out of the Gunners’ group games, missing three games – against PSV Eindhoven, Lens and the return game against PSV Eindhoven due to injury.
Partey struggled to recover from his recurring injuries in that span, which included groin and hamstring problems.
Despite making the bench against FC Porto in the round of 16, just as he had done against Lens in the second group game, Partey was an unused sub as Arsenal secured victory.
Partey, who had missed the first leg of Arsenal’s tie against Porto due to a hamstring injury, was given a late cameo by Mikel Arteta in Arsenal’s first-leg tie against Bayern Munich at the Emirates.
The 31-year-old was then left on the bench in the subsequent game, which ended in a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
However, in the 2024-25 Uefa Champions League season, Thomas Partey has already surpassed his previous 2023-24 appearance mark, starting all two of Arsenal’s games(against Atalanta and PSG).
Just as he’s been involved in every single Premier League game so for for the Gunners – Partey’s availability means Arteta can count on the Ghanaian’s expertise in Europe’s elite competition.
On Tuesday night against PSG, where Arsenal cruised to victory, the Ghanaian made the most interceptions (3) of any player on the pitch as he imposed himself in midfield.
His all-round performance saw him almost rewarded with a goal as he was inches away from getting a touch on a Bukayo Saka’s free-kick, which traveled all the way into PSG’s goal without any contact to give the Gunners a cushion.
Coincidentally, a goal against PSG, which would have been Partey’s third Uefa Champions League career goal, would have meant the Ghanaian had scored on the same day five years apart.
On October 1, 2019, Thomas Partey scored his second and last Uefa Champions League goal against Lokomotiv Moscow for Atlético Madrid at the time.
Arsenal, one of two unbeaten Premier League sides, continue their sensational start to the season with a game against struggling Southampton on Saturday.
