Thomas Partey is now an Arsenal player.
It took flirtations all summer but Arsenal finally deemed him worthy of triggering his release clause and brought him to London on deadline day.
Let’s take a look at what his statistics say about him as a player. The stats below will be per 90 minutes unless they are a rate stat (passing percentage for example). The percentile rankings will compare him to players from the top 5 leagues going back of Europe who played at least 60% of their minutes at midfield and logged at least 900 minutes, going back to the 2017-18 season.
Thomas Partey Radar
Thomas Partey Defensive numbers
3.6 – Tackles, Attempted Per 90, 51.85 Percentile Rank
2.5 – Tackles, Successful Per 90, 68.03 Percentile Rank
1.7 – Interceptions Per 90, 77.85 Percentile Rank
0.8 – Blocked Passes Per 90, 40.33 Percentile Rank
1.4 – Clearances Per 90, 59.09 Percentile Rank
1.7 – Fouls committed Per 90, 36.72 Percentile Rank
0.3 – Blocks Per 90, 61.59 Percentile Rank
7.8 – Ball Recoveries Per 90, 82.2 Percentile Rank
3.3 – Aerial Duels, Total Per 90, 73.1 Percentile Rank
2.3 – Aerial Duels, Won Per 90, 87.03 Percentile Rank
0.2 – Errors Per 90, 0.09 Percentile Rank
15.7 – Pressures Per 90, 26.81 Percentile Rank
4.9 – Pressure Regains Per 90, 44.36 Percentile Rank
A comparison to Arsenal’s current midfielders:
| Thomas Partey | Granit Xhaka | Dani Ceballos | |
| Tackles, Attempted | 3.6 | 2.6 | 4.7 |
| Tackles, Successful | 2.5 | 1.6 | 2.4 |
| Interceptions | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 |
| Blocked Passes | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Clearances | 1.4 | 2.1 | 0.9 |
| Foul, Committed | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1 |
| Blocks | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.2 |
| Ball Recoveries | 7.8 | 6.8 | 8.1 |
| Aerial Duels, Total | 3.3 | 3.4 | 1.8 |
| Aerial Duels, Won | 2.3 | 1.6 | 0.5 |
| Errors | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Pressures | 15.7 | 15.1 | 23.6 |
| Pressure Regains | 4.9 | 4.4 | 6.3 |
Partey’s defensive numbers look very solid, he doesn’t stick out as elite at ball-winning but it looks like he does plenty to earn as a midfielder.
The one skill that he has that none of our current midfielders has is that he is good at winning balls in the air. Granit Xhaka challenges for a similar number of aerial balls but wins the ball about 30% less.
His error number looks concerning, but that is something that can be affected but one or two mistakes, his numbers from the two previous seasons were 0.04 and 0.09.
Thomas Partey Ball Progression numbers
56.1 – Passes Attempt Per 90, 68.35 Percentile Rank
46.1 – Passes Completed Per 90, 68.76 Percentile Rank
82.2 – Pass completion %, 58.45 Percentile Rank
5.9 – Completed Final Third Entries Per 90, 70.45 Percentile Rank
0.7 – Completed Passes into the box Per 90, 40.66 Percentile Rank
6.6 – Progressive passes Per 90, 83.89 Percentile Rank
1.4 – Deep Completions Per 90, 46.85 Percentile Rank
1.1 – Final Third Entry Carries Per 90, 44.04 Percentile Rank
0.1 – Carries into the box Per 90, 45.81 Percentile Rank
2.9 – Progressive Carries Per 90, 46.29 Percentile Rank
2.5 – Dribbles, Attempted Per 90, 80.51 Percentile Rank
2 – Dribbles, Completed Per 90, 91.62 Percentile Rank
0.5 – Dispossessed Per 90, 86.4 Percentile Rank
0.8 – Unsuccessful Touches Per 90, 81.16 Percentile Rank
1.2 – Fouls Suffered Per 90, 45.08 Percentile Rank
A comparison to Arsenal’s current midfielders:
| Thomas Partey | Granit Xhaka | Dani Ceballos | |
| Pass Attempt | 56.1 | 66.8 | 70.1 |
| Pass Completed | 46.1 | 58.5 | 58.8 |
| Pass % | 82.2% | 87.5% | 83.9% |
| Completed Final Third Entry | 5.9 | 7.6 | 8.3 |
| Completed Pass into the box | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.4 |
| ProgPass | 6.6 | 6 | 6.5 |
| Deep Completion | 1.4 | 1.2 | 3.3 |
| Final Third Entry Carry | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.6 |
| Carry into the box | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Progressive Carries | 2.9 | 2.9 | 7.2 |
| Dribble, Attempted | 2.5 | 1.1 | 2 |
| Dribble, Completed | 2 | 0.9 | 1.4 |
| Dispossessed | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Unsuccessful Touch | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
| Foul Suffered | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.9 |
Partey’s ball progression numbers are again, good but below the elite levels.
He passes at fairly high completion percentage, but not at the volume of where the Arsenal midfielders are, I would put this down to Atleti playing with less possession than Arsenal and not an area of concern. My passing model says that he completes passes at a rate that is in line with what is expected, but he is in general a player that will look to move the ball upfield even if that pass might be a little more risky. He averaged 28 forward passes per 90 which is in line with what the other Arsenal midfielders attempted (30 for Xhaka and 28 for Cebllos) even with less total attempts.
Overall my passing rating model says that he is an above average passer for a midfield rating in the 72nd percentile (Xhaka is 67th and Cebllos is 88th).
With the ball at his feet he looks very secure. He carries the ball forward a good amount, especially for a player with his level of touches. He averages just shy of 130 progressive yards of carry per 90 and 3 progressive carries per 90. Where he looks really good is when he takes on defenders, completing 2 dribbles per 90 at an 80% success rate. He also is very hard to take the ball off of losing the ball just 1.4 times per 90 minutes.
If you wanted to point to an elite skill I think that this would be it. My expected turnovers model would say that a player that has the ball in the areas that he touches and the number of dirrbles that he attempts would be expected to lose the ball clsoer to 2.1 times per 90. His overall ball retention rating (takes into account the value of moving the ball forward compared to how much it is lost) puts him in the 94th percentile for midfielders.
Thomas Partey Attacking Numbers
1.1 – Shots Per 90, 56.28 Percentile Rank
0.8 – Open Play Shots Per 90, 55.63 Percentile Rank
0.1 – Non-Pen xG Per 90, 33.73 Percentile Rank
0.6 – Touches in the box Per 90, 24.95 Percentile Rank
1.2 – Deep Touches Per 90, 28.5 Percentile Rank
0.7 – Chances Created Per 90, 31.48 Percentile Rank
0.04 – Shot Assisted xG Per 90, 20.93 Percentile Rank
0.6 – Open Play Key Passes Per 90, 31.8 Percentile Rank
0.1 – Set Play Key Passes Per 90, 66.5 Percentile Rank
0.2 – Throughballs Per 90, 75.52 Percentile Rank
A comparison to Arsenal’s current midfielders:
| Thomas Partey | Granit Xhaka | Dani Ceballos | |
| Shots | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| Open Play Shots | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Non-Pen xG | 0.05 | 0.02 | 0.04 |
| Touches in the box | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Deep Touches | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.1 |
| Chances Created | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.5 |
| Shot Assisted xG | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.1 |
| Open Play Key Passes | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Set Play Key Passes | 0.1 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Throughballs | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
Partey’s attacking numbers aren’t all that great, but this could be down to his role on the Atleti team where he plays more reserved.
Given the technical ability that the stats suggest that he has from his ball progression, it is possible that these numbers could improve if he was given a different role but that is a big question mark.
Overall
Arsenal have gotten themselves a player at peak age for a midfielder, who is good but maybe not an elite player.
He does a lot of really good things, he puts up mostly above average defensive numbers (on a good defensive team that is highly structured), has mostly above average passing numbers (on a team that isn’t possession dominate) with very good ability to beat a man while holding on to the ball, and average or below creative numbers (while not playing in a role where that is his primary job).
My impression is that he looks like an improvement and replacement for Granit Xhaka in the Arsenal midfield.
The biggest question, and the one that I am not 100 percent sold on, is that improvement worth the 100 million pound investment that Arsenal have committed to him. When I look at Arsenal’s midfield, I do see concerns that Xhaka can be a limiting player for Arsenal but the biggest hole in the team is not getting the ball into the final third, but getting the ball from the final third into the box and turning that into shots and goals.
This transfer looks like a move that improves Arsenal over the next couple of seasons and that is something to be happy about.
Welcome Thomas.
@oh_that_crab
Sources: Opta via Whoscored, my own database. StatsBomb via FBRef.
Be sure to check out the really nice data vizulaizations that Jon Ollington did earlier today.
Thanks for that. Besides informative on Partey, one takeaway for me is that Dani Ceballos is a pretty special player!
I agree about Ceballos. Hopefully, we may get the chance to sign him come Summer (although the Catch-22 is the better he plays, the more we’ll pay).
My thoughts exactly
Was actually the most interesting part of these stats!
No doubt — I’ve been really enjoying watching Ceballos play, but I didn’t realize he was so effective.
Seriously! Think we need to push Ceballos further up the right side of the field… has already displayed some great improvisation in the final third this year and seems to be improving. How about some of those first time balls he’s been playing recently?
I really like him as a number 8, we have seen him look a lot effective as a number 10.
Agreed, just think that the defensive security that Partey provides will allow for him to be a bit more adventurous and opportunistic – especially if we start playing with 3 in the midfield.
Exact my thoughts!! Was more impressed with Sami’s numbers
Hyppias and Khediras of this world.
Hehe, typo or autocorrect , meant ofcourse Dani.
And I think playing alongside Partey and the more solid platform he’ll provide (& In particular the ability to win the ball and recycle it quickly) will allow Ceballos to improve too.
Overall, have we overpaid for a little above average midfielder?
Just asking.
The proof of the pudding etc. let’s see what he does. The Guardian had a report on the transfer today. Apparently, it seems we paid the whole fee up front (£45million) and he’s receiving £250,000 a week on a four year contract, with an additional one year’s option – making him one of the top four earners at the club. In addition, there’s a £2million signing-on fee. The agent(s) fees involved are a further 10%. All in all, that’s a hell of a cost. I’m not saying he isn’t worth it, none of us know one way or another yet,… Read more »
I think when we scout a player for three years and he is consistently top of our priority list regardless of the individual scout, we’ve found a player that has an amazing chance of having a massive impact for us.
For Arsenal fans, the only players worth putting down any money for are number 10s. Even strikers are a luxury when you could easily take any half-decent winger, plonk him closest to goal and watch the magic happen.
I would be very surprised if Leno retained his spot much longer, his key pass numbers are miserable. Ozil has got to be forcing his way into that creative rear-end role soon.
I think this is a bit unfair. Even for the role he plays, the numbers aren’t elite. There is plenty of reason to think they could improve, or that they don’t tell the full story.
But questioning the value based on those numbers is reasonable, and I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss it as ‘Arsenal fans only want 10s’.
You haven’t. The only player better than Partey is Thiago Acantara. Partey exhibition against man. Utd shows the kind of player he is.
U didn’t know much about him because you were not watching la liga. But now he’s in England, you will see that he’s better all the players in ur league.
Perhaps the biggest improvement on Xhaka is that his ability to cover ground will allow us to move to 4 at the back and then put another creative midfielder (Willian/Saka/a.n.other) in to solve that issue.
Hopefully.
Yes exactly, that’s the plan I envision it though this signing. Play a back four, have Partey be that adaptive defensive midfielder who will drop back and receive the ball from the keeper(his retention and strength and dribble off the early press are clear indicators) and play both Ceballos and Willian as the other two midfielders. Now we can rotate the forwards with Auba being the mainstay. Exciting season ahead and it’s been years we have been this well rounded. We should have one of Saka or ESR or probably Aouar filling in the Willian void in a years time.… Read more »
The thing I’m a little confused by in the assessment of him being “good but not elite” is that he is good at basically everything, but not elite at really anything (except perhaps dribbling). But considering that alone, are there any other players our there that are so broadly complete that they are good at everything, basically no weaknesses, thus making him an elite player?
Well another person mentioned that Kondogbia is a similar player which is true. Though Kondogbia is not as well-rounded, he is a better defender of the ball in terms of blocks, tackles and clearances.
However, where Partey really outshines Kondogbia is in ball progression, ball retention and aerial duels.
I looked at Doucoure’s numbers but it wasn’t even a fair comparison. Doucoure is even worse defensively than both Partey & Kondogbia and is not as good in other areas. I put that down to playing for Watford
Can you do this for Emi Buendia vs Aouar? That is a comparison I’d like to see.
These were the top 5 comps from last season:
Mato Jajalo
Florian Grillitsch
Rubén Alcaraz
Pierre Kunde
Granit Xhaka is 10th on my list of comps
Albin Ekdal
It is probably more on the line of good enough than good. His defense is average to average plus, so definitely good enough to be a midfielder but not among the top “DM”s His ball progression, passing is pretty close to average overall, dribbles and carrying is his best skill and this is where maybe I’d say he is closest to elite. So good enough but not really among the elite deep play makers Attacking/Creativity is average to maybe below. As a player who is further back on the pitch makes sense but this is again numbers that are good… Read more »
Must say I disagree from both the eye-test (watchin atleti) and some of the data. There are some large discrepancies between some of your data and Jon Ollington’s data (particularly in progressive passing). And while you do discuss systematic differences (Atleti vs Arsenal) I think they play a bigger role than you are giving credit for. Another thing is you state he isn’t that creative, but simply being able to get behind opposition players (beating them with turns and ball carries) makes a team A LOT more creative even if he gives the ball to attackers to deliver some of… Read more »
Great comment. There’s so much to be excited by. The pace of his passing is a massive one for me. You can’t measure that but it allows us to break the lines so much mor effectively. It allows people to play in a different way.
Good question my brother.
Which one midfielder is complete like Partey
Nice analysis! From what I can tell he also has an excellent work rate and positioning – which stats can’t really show. Interested to see how these stats will be affected when he plays for us, given we play a largely different style than Atletico. Also really interested in how introducing him into the team affects the other midfielders’ stats! He’s far more mobile than Xhaka so hopefully that’ll ease up some of the pressure on Dani to cover more ground and help with our creative numbers. And whoever we choose to play in the 10 role will be pleased… Read more »
My take away is that we needed Aouar too!
One step at a time I guess …
The great thing about Aouar is that his name is also the sound I made when I found out we couldn’t do the deal.
And the great thing about Partey is that’s exactly what I did when I found out we did that deal!
Good job Paul Dickov progressed through the youth academy then
The mayor at the top of his game tonight!
He is also a valuable resource whenever there is a shortage of vowels.
I have to say that we’ve needed an serious allrounder in CM for a decade. We’ve got too many goldilocks specialists. Here is a prime player with soft factors such as physicality and intelligence that stats do not show. He looks like the perfect foil for Cebellos and could maybe even play with Xhaka, taking some of the physical burden off him. He may not be elite in any traditional stat category, but if you watch him play you will realise how impressive a player he is. I’d like to see some more physical stats like distance covered and sprints… Read more »
Excellent comment. I was a little concerned when reading Scott’s breakdown above that Partey does not qualify in the elite category based on his stats, but when you pair that with the need we’ve had for this midfield profile for over a decade, finally have him, and the changes that could bring to the entire team, I realize we might just be about to see Partey become elite in red and white.
Agree. What would Vieira look like as a comparison? I’m not sure he’d come out of it as ‘elite’ either. But by god he was.
If God is a Gooner surely Spuds should be relegated?
God would not deny us the pleasure of celebrating St Totteringham’s Day
Thanks for the stats that isolates his individual performance whilst at Madrid.
Any stats on how fast this 6 foot giant is?
Also, i’m keener to hear arseblog talk about how Partey might change the choice of formation Arteta can adopt going forward since, quite clearly, this is a defensive addition in the middle of the park.
further, albeit wishful thinking on my part, could Partey accommodate Ozil’s defensive laziness yet admit the latter’s creativity?
I’m not sure about the 250K/wk wage being talked about in the media. Looks like a made up number, just like how it was reported that we were paying Real 15M or so for Ceballos last year as loan fees. If the news about wages is true, it seems excessive to me.
Yes, that is more click-bait BS fabricated by the mail et al. I’ve seen 5 or 6 different figures thrown around, nobody has a clue. If i was to guess. 200k absolute maximum.
He was apparently the lowest earner in Atleti’s XL, so it’s a step up no matter what he’s on now.
All of this depends on how bonuses are counted. If he is on 200k a week (which is probably about right according to multiple reports) and he has yearly bonuses that can be in the 2-3 million range that would come to about 13 million a year which is 250k per week.
If the $250k is made up, how sure are we for Ozil’s $350k?
Oh stats. What would we do without them, eh?
Good question. I’d say:
80% of the time, I wouldn’t give a crap about deep stats, though
20% of the time, I might.
The number of shots on goal, goals scored and conceded, and possession, and number of cards – that’s all fun.
100% of the FIFA fanboys love stats.
And at least 50% of the time, stats actually come useful.
Plus, 54% of stats published are bullshit anyways
CHecks out
And that red part on his radar, ladies and gentlemen is the map of Ghana.
Taking representing his country to a new level.
Crazy spot!
While stats are good, I’m not particularly bothered about the few issues raised as the style of play at arsenal is different from what atletico Madrid play and that’s a factor worth noting.
I did note that Atleti play differently than what Arsenal does.
Wow ceballos is one special player.
Unfortunately underrated..
My goodness.. play him in his favoured role nd he LL beast..
Partey should replace xhaka for me .
Pair him with ceballos. Give willian or saka ESR the 10 role.
Unleash pepe ..
Against tough opposition’s we could pair xhaka nd partey with ceballos upfront..
I don’t care about parteys stats.. the stats don’t even tell half the real story. ..
Partey is fucking elite. From wat I watch of course
This is me.
I saw someone on twitter call him Ghanasaurus, kind of hoping it catches on haha.
Wish we had the stats of some of the legends to compare with. Would love to see how they all stack up against a Viera or Gilberto for example.
Unfortunatley they played in the statistical dark ages
Oh yeah absolutely, I wasn’t actually expecting to have those stats!
So now we are in the statistical enlightenment – The renaissance?
I appreciate this article minus the not-so-subtle anti-Xhaka bias. Completely unnecessary
I didn’t think I was being anti-Xhaka. I really mentioned him at the end saying that I think Partey is more a replacement for him and that Xhaka is a limiting player to Arsenal but not necessarily the problem with the midfield.
I don’t think that is really unfair because I think anyone who has watched Arsenal can see that Xhaka is a good but flawed player. Also since he has been the guy running the midfield show Arsenal have finished 5th, 6th, 5th and 8th.
Enjoyed this analysis Scott and yes his most obvious role will be to displace Xhaka (upgraded mobility and athleticism a given). Also agree the CAM role was more important but we could only bake one cake this TW.
Wow that was negative
“This transfer looks like a move that improves Arsenal over the next couple of seasons and that is something to be happy about.”
That seems upbeat
Very even-handed and interesting analysis, Scott – thanks. Do you have any thoughts on his progression between the 2018-19 season and the 2019-20 season? Some striking differences: Tackle/dribble past %: From 27.5 (37th percentile) to 40 (88th percentile) Tackles per 90: From 2.61 (71st percentile) to 2.12 (51st percentile) Interceptions (pAdj): From 2.07 (89th percentile) to 1.7 (79th percentile) Successful pressures: From 6.39 (74th percentile) to 4.87 (28th percentile) Am I misreading or does this suggest he basically stopped pressing in 2019-20? Maybe he dropped deeper? He seems to be a guy who is capable of putting up big numbers… Read more »
The trend of the defensive numbers could be a concern 2017-18 to 2019-20 Tackles: 3.595458 2.854397 2.506865 Interceptions: 2.195122 2.119173 1.73009 Blocked passes: 0.98402 0.90822 0.84739 Fouls: 1.589571 1.340702 1.694782 Pressures: 18.09083 21.53772 15.71204 Suc Pressures: 5.147183 6.35752 4.872499 I agree that he is a bit tough to pigeon hole as a player. My general opinion is that he is a good but not elite all around midfielder. I don’t think that he is in particular a “defensive” midfielder but a midfielder that does enough defensive work as part of a unit. I don’t think that he is really a… Read more »
Thanks for the response. All in all it seems like he’s a guy with some elite skills (great dribbling and ball progression, capable of top-bracket interceptions and solid pressing at certain points in his career, and capable of following tactical instruction), but Arsenal have overpaid on both salary and probably fee. Similar story as with Pepe – paying for star quality and ball skills over proven, consistent production. It’s interesting that reports say Arsenal had agreed personal terms with him back in April 2019, and then left it all this time without activating the clause; that in itself confirms that… Read more »
This issue of over paid for partey is not to accurate bearing in mind that in the 21 century market, the real value of a player is very difficult to accertain due to the ever increase money available in football, the class/financial status of the club that’s interested, league and nationality of the player Imagine partey was English who was playing in a “smaller” English team with arsenal trying to sign him Will we be talking about £45 Comon let’s get on with it, the most important thing is that we got our man and not some other alternative Can’t… Read more »
Thanks for this. I think he’s a player where stats really don’t tell the full story. Having seen him play, I think he’s exactly what our midfield needs, I actually wanted him more than Auour. Having Partey in midfield will give us more control and give us the basis to get the likes of Saka, Martinelli and Pepe doing what Auour would’ve brought to us. We don’t need Partey to be the greatest tackler passer, sprinter, dribbler, headerer, interceptor etc, just someone who does all with quality, that’s what we’ve missed for over a decade. By the way, 4 years… Read more »
And kolasinac the best left back ?
Why does your radar show 3.74 progressive passes per 90 but the stats have him at 6.6/90? Doesn’t that make a big difference in percentile?
The radar uses my progressive passes metric the second section uses the StatsBomb definition. They are slightly different but the percentiles are about the same.
Hmmm. I’m confused about the percentile in part because @Jon Ollington piece has a chart showing Partey having 186 progressive passes 6.57/90 (about the same as yours) which he says is 89th percentile as opposed to 61.8. Seems like a big discrepancy.
His percentiles I believe include everyone but defenders mine only looks at players that have played 60% or more of their time at midfield. That is what I would guess is the difference.
I see. Out of curiosity, what kinds of passes does you progressive passing metric exclude that are included in the Stats bomb metric? Also I would be interested to see an apples to apples radar comparison of Partey to Fahbino and or Fernandinho
Also @jonollington’s piece has Partey at having an 88% pass accuracy last year in La Liga, and this has him at 82%. Where does that discrepancy come from?
I don’t know, might have taken some things out on that (for example whoscored will take out cross attempts of their pass completion percentage). I have him at 1,724 passes attempted and 1,414 passes completed last season in La Liga.
Partey is just not that special past running fast and his size. Which we do miss in midfield, question is did we need it for 80M over 4 years?
I don’t think these numbers are as useful when you consider that Atletico played a very different game to ours
I think that the stats will do a pretty good job of telling us about the player. I don’t expect a major change in his passing. He might be asked to play slightly more conservatively having his pass% increase but overall that should be about the same. His ball carrying and dribbles are likely to be roughly the same (or at least Arsenal probably hope) as they will want him to maximize that skill to help make Arsenal more press resistant and break a line to help allow attackers to have space to run into. I don’t expect a major… Read more »
But how does he compare to Elneny?
Really hard to compare Turkish stats unfortunately
“We have been watching Thomas for a while, so we’re now delighted to add such a high quality player to our squad. He is a dynamic midfielder with great energy.”
Arteta.
Fack, numbers bore me – except the ones I can buy the moon with
Cheers Scott, good as ever. I guess ElNeny doesn’t have enough minutes to qualify, but based on his minutes since he’s been back, you think we can learn anything? Clearly Partey’s nailed on to start, which means the axe is hanging over one of Xhaka or ElNeny. In recent weeks one might conclude Xhaka’d be the one sacrificed, but that assumption doesn’t factor in any consideration of Partey taking Xhaka’s DM spot, allowing Xhaka to move up to an AM – something that ElNeny arguably has less affinity for. In short: Partey looks like he’s an upgrade on Xhaka in… Read more »
I think he is an improvement over Elneny as well.
My gut is saying that Elneny was playing because he is mobile and can cover space that Xhaka struggles with.
It is also important that he just provides options because Arsenal will have a lot of games to play this season.
Wondering if we can bring in Aouar in the next window, how do his stats compare to these 3?
Who is an elite midfielder in Partey’s position? If you could pick anyone for Arsenal to sign there, Scott, who would it be?
Alcantara or prime Cazorla
Thomas Partey. He has no weaknesses. He is good at everything, bordering on elite in a few cats and a little more average in others. But other guys with elite skills have flaws that can be targeted. Thiago I would say is one of the best now – but he doesn’t have Partey’s strength and Aerial ability nor is he as strong on the dribble. But Thiago is elite. Kante is great defensively, but his passing is very simple and again is very small – no aerial ability. He is still close to elite (if not). There are many other… Read more »
I think your final analysis misses the main point, which is that Partey will allow Arteta to set up with his preferred 4-3-3. The 3-5-2 has been limiting to our attack and has seen us outplayed often in the middle of the pitch. Tierney and Bellerin have been good, but they are much more fullbacks then wingbacks so it should free them up to dominate as well. Whether we free Ceballos up to play more advanced or play him deeper alongside Partey and push Willian or Saka into a #10 role, it should the overall balance of the team being… Read more »
My guess is Atleti’s extremely rigid system warps the data here a little – we shall see!
For me, Partey has been brought because he’s press resistant, can progress the ball from deep with dribbling and is technically secure on the ball. He can also cover larger distances defensively. A transition player, and we really needed one.
Agree with the implication that we need to move on from the concrete-booted Xhaka.
Great analysis, but his numbers can be a bit misleading given the style of Ateltico’s football; low defensive blocks, less tackles, more adventurous passing to enable counter attacks, less options to showcase his offensive abilities etc. My takeaway from the stats is that we have a player who is above average in almost all categories for a midfielder. Comparing him to current and recent Arsenal midfielders, this is how I interpret his stats: A better CDM than Torreira, Coquelin, Elneny A better ball progressor than anyone bar Ramsey over the past decade A better deep lying playmaker than anyone bar… Read more »
great work Willis
Don’t understand why arseblog news yet have not reported Ozils offer to pay Gunnerasauras.
they’re negotiating for M10 to be the mascot instead of staying at home. at least he’ll be on the pitch
Strange how the Thomas Partey Radar diagram looks like the actual map of Ghana.
Would be interesting to see how his stats have changed if you remove the 17/18 season from the numbers. His last 2 years are why we are buying him.
Very interesting stats. I think one aspect is not covered though – the acquisition of Partey offers to opportunity for us to switch to 4-3-3, so allowing Partey, Xhaka and Ceballos to play at the same time. This will give us greater flexibility from a formation perspective and allow an additional man further up the pitch to threaten in the final third.
He’s an ugly looking brute……..just what we need!
I came back to this article just to see Dani’s stats again and to leave this comment – HE IS UNDERRATED. He passes the eye test, surely, and these stats back it up.
I can see us using all 3 in midfield (with a back 4) against bigger teams. That could work really well.
Excellent analysis, Scott. I always look forward to reading your articles.
Partey’s proficiency in multiple categories indicates that he is likely to be versatile in adapting to Arsenal’s playing style. Yes he was an expensive acquisition, but I am optimistic that his output in individual offensive / defensive actions is primed to reach elite levels in the seasons ahead.
Stats are great, but they only show so much, football is much more than that. In this team Partey can make a big contribution, I suspect he’ll be much busier than he was in Atlético’s super defensive team, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to go 1-on-1 against opponents and basically all his numbers should improve. Ceballos has good numbers and he’s a decent player, yet he can disappear for long periods in a game, not unlike a certain Germano-Türk we have. His workrate is excellent though. I do hope he remains a useful member of the squad and we can… Read more »
Thanks Scott! Informative as usual
Break up play, early pass to players in-between the lines, with more space.
Even better:
Break the press, early pass to players in-between the lines with more space and other team are unstructured.