Thomas Partey isn’t a player who lingers long in possession, but on Friday evening, when he made the short trip across London to Crystal Palace with Arsenal to launch the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, he seemed disinclined to take more than a touch each time the ball landed at his feet.
It was Partey’s first taste of a season-opener in three years as an Arsenal player, but he wouldn’t be telling his grandkids about the experience. If anything irritated Palace fans more than seeing Partey on the pitch, it seemed, it was seeing Partey on the ball.
He’d be foolish not to have seen it coming.
With mere days to the start of the season, a United Kingdom-based woman – who claims to have been in a romantic relationship with the Ghana vice-captain – set social media alight with allegations of sexual assault against Partey and supposed proof of same.
It’s as plausible an explanation for the intermittent yet incessant booing heard as could be reasonably proffered, and possibly, too, for the “Kick Rapists Off The Pitch” banner that flew over Selhurst Park before kickoff. Partey – if, indeed, that airborne message had him in its crosshairs – would find hardly any comfort in knowing that said banner was funded partly by a section of Arsenal fans.
As the game wore on, and the Gunners closed in on a not-so-comfortable 2-0 victory, the home supporters got less vocal in cheering their team’s moves, seemingly saving their energies for those moments when a passage of play involved Partey.
“Partey the Pariah,” they may as well have chanted.
The sense that the midfielder had been rendered a persona non grata on this occasion was evident, too, in coverage of the game – especially if you were following The Guardian‘s live text commentary.
Of the 29 players who featured on the night, only one didn’t get a mention beyond the team news and starting lineups: no prizes for guessing who. It was probably because Partey did nothing spectacular, but you get the feeling he could have scored a hat-trick and still gone ‘unnoticed’.
And if you were watching the game live — as I was — you likely wouldn’t once have heard the commentators make reference to the loud, clear and obvious abuse Partey was receiving.
To the 29-year-old’s credit, he held his nerve fairly well, doing the simple things – as always – to keep Arsenal’s engine warm and running. Partey didn’t impose himself in the high-octane manner he is accustomed to, but he wasn’t completely drowned by the noise, finishing the first half with the most tackles of any player (5).
That said, Partey had to dig deep into his reserves of mental fortitude to defy the tide of unrelenting hostility he was up against all-game – his head just above water – to perform to the extent he managed. From the looks of it, this wouldn’t be the last time he’d be required to mine tons of emotional strength this season.
There will be more, perhaps sterner, tests as Arsenal visit the division’s other grounds – heck, even at the Emirates Partey would be guaranteed little respite – until he is cleared or otherwise, or until Arsenal are persuaded to take action that some deem overdue.
Regardless of how things play out, it’s rather unfortunate that Partey has to endure this in his third season. The first and second saw injuries stretch him to his physical limits; it’s the former Atletico Madrid man’s psychological resilience that’s now going to come under scrutiny, at a time manager Mikel Arteta finally appears to be constructing a team around him worthy of his talents.
He could yet provide the consistently powerful influence Arsenal desperately hope to get out of him, but Partey will now have to do it the hard way.
Yaw Frimpong – Ink & Kicks
