Arsenal's hopes of ending their long Premier League title drought have been all but dashed, as their defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion means Manchester City will now just need one win to secure the title.
The Gunners had a great chance of winning the league as they were at some point leading City by eight points but a run of performances in April placed the latter above them as the frontrunners.
They drew three matches on the bounce before losing a 4-1 decisive game against Manchester City, and as a result, lost the top spot to City.
Interestingly Arsenal’s capitulation coincided with Partey’s poor form with a number of fans mentioning him as the cause of their poor run in April.
Partey carried Arsenal throughout the season with the fans believing that winning the league was mostly dependent on his availability. Therefore, his sudden dip in performance since April has startled fans, who have now turned against him, with some calling for his dismissal. But the question is, what caused Partey's dramatic decline in form?
Here are three reasons for Partey's lost form
Saliba’s injury
Arsenal's troubles began following the injury of William Saliba. The French defender formed a solid partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes giving the Gunners surety at the back.
His injury propelled head coach Mikel Arteta to make tweaks in his strategy by adopting a double pivot system in defensive transition, pushing Partey to cover Saliba's replacement Rob Holding.
The change limited Partey influence in games because his main duty on the pitch changed from conducting the team's play to acting more of a protector.
Injuries
The former Atletico Madrid man was on a roll right after the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Unfortunately, he lost his rhythm after he suffered a muscular problem in late February 2023.
Demands of Lone 6
The lone defensive midfield role requires one to act as a destroyer and a conductor.
Partey has many qualities that make him best fit the position, including setting the tempo, coordinating the build-up, maintaining the defensive shape by leading the press, covering more distance by getting involved in every action as well as cutting through the opponent's press with direct and incisive passes but at 29 and with a record of injuries, the demands of that role seemed to have eventually caught up with Partey who has looked leggy and jaded in the last few matches.
The 29-year-old get often run out of gas early in games and fail to rake up the energy to activate his destroyer demands of a defensive midfielder.
This allows opponents to cut through Arsenal's midfield with ease because he becomes non-existence in defensive transitions and barely gets involved.
EE/KPE
Arsenal midfielder, Thomas Partey