Forget Neto, one Arsenal star’s poor performance was a clear problem against Girona

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Arsenal secured their place in the Champions League round of 16 by beating Girona on Wednesday night.

The Gunners finished third in the inaugural league phase of the competition, behind only Liverpool and Barcelona.

Juventus, AC Milan, PSV and Feyenoord are Arsenal’s potential opponents in their first knockout round, with the route to the final already mapped out.

Goals from Jorginho and Ethan Nwaneri ensured that Mikel Arteta’s team saw off Girona, in what was a largely positive night for the North Londoners.

However, a worrying performance will have alarmed the Arsenal boss as his team prepares for some testing games in the coming weeks.

Thomas Partey’s performance against Girona was worrying

Neto was the subject of scrutiny from Arsenal fans for his performance against Girona, as the Brazilian’s bizarre positioning allowed Arnaut Danjuma to open the scoring early on.

However, David Raya is expected to be available for the Manchester City game, so the number two goalkeeper won’t be a huge concern for Arteta moving forward.

Thomas Partey, on the other hand, produced a display that will massively worry the Spaniard.

Deployed out of position at right-back, the Ghanaian was caught napping for Girona’s goal, allowing Danjuma to run in behind him and slot beyond Neto.

Danjuma admitted that Girona planned to exploit Partey’s weakness in this position.

The goal encapsulated Partey’s lack of defensive instincts and showed that he doesn’t possess the concentration levels required to play as a full-back.

Paul Merson lamented Partey for a mistake he made in this position against Aston Villa earlier this month, showing that his struggles in this role are a theme.

Perhaps most strikingly, Arsenal’s record with Partey at right-back isn’t good, winning just seven of the 14 games in which he’s started in this role.

Whilst he provided value to the Gunners in possession on Wednesday night, venturing forward to win a penalty, defensively he remained a liability.

Arteta clearly recognised this was an issue, hooking the 31-year-old at half-time for Jurrien Timber.

However, Timber cannot play every minute, and given Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu aren’t close to returning to action, Partey may have to be called upon again in the coming weeks at right-back.

• READ MORE: Arsenal fans are all saying the same thing about Martin Odegaard after his Girona performance

Thomas Partey has declined this season for Arsenal

While he’s been utilised at right-back several times, Partey has still played the bulk of his minutes in central midfield this campaign.

Despite this, the Ghana international’s level has dropped this year and he’s shown evidence of decline.

Comparing his statistics from the 2022/23 season to this term (leaving out the small sample size from last campaign), it’s clear that his passing has become significantly less effective.

He retains possession as well as he ever has done, but offers significantly less in regard to progressing the ball up the pitch.

Given his punched passes in between the lines were his superpower, and that he no longer delivers these at a prolific rate, Arsenal shouldn’t be considering offering him a new deal in the summer.