61-touch star was actually Arsenal’s worst player against PSG, Mikel Arteta should drop him

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The Gunners were trailing by a goal heading into the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, and their task was made more difficult when Fabian Ruiz crashed home the opener in the first half.

The Parisians doubled their advantage in the second period when Achraf Hakimi curled past David Raya, before Bukayo Saka tucked home a late consolation.

PSG ultimately ran out 3-1 winners on aggregate in the tie, condemning Mikel Arteta’s team to a fifth consecutive season without silverware.

• READ MORE: Martin Keown says Arsenal were ‘perfect’ in one area against PSG, Mikel Arteta will be fuming

Thomas Partey was poor for Arsenal against PSG

Arsenal fans were frustrated by Martin Odegaard’s performance against PSG, but another player was much worse than the Norwegian on the night.

Odegaard was ineffective in some portions of the game, but he was denied an excellent goal by a spectacular save from Gianluigi Donnarumma and pressed brilliantly throughout.

Meanwhile, Thomas Partey’s display had very few redeeming qualities.

Fans were stunned by Partey’s long throws, but aside from a chance for Gabriel Martinelli inside the opening few minutes, these throws led to very few moments of real danger inside the PSG box.

The Ghanaian did make a few impressive interceptions when the Ligue 1 side looked to play through Arsenal’s press, but he did very little with the ball once the turnovers were forced.

Unwilling to break lines or try any remotely progressive passes, Partey offered the Gunners very little in possession.

Off the ball, the midfielder was completely absent for several of PSG’s counter-attacks, failing to prevent them from materialising because of his concerning lack of athleticism.

Comfortably the worst Arsenal player on the pitch, Arteta should consider dropping him for the remainder of the season and begin working on something different for next season.

Thomas Partey’s statistics vs PSG

The data highlights just how poor Partey was in Paris.

Completing just 83% of his passes, the 31-year-old played one accurate long ball and just two key passes, both of which came directly from his long throws.

Dribbled past once, Partey was largely not in the right position to even be beaten one-on-one, often nowhere to be seen when PSG looked to break.

Contributing very little in the final third, this was nothing short of a diabolical performance from the midfield player.

With Arsenal reportedly willing to renew Partey’s contract, the Gunners hierarchy will surely be reconsidering after what they saw from the midfielder on Wednesday night.