Why Ghana must plan its World Cup without Thomas Partey
Deputy Black Stars skipper Thomas Partey
In a transfer window where Arsenal spent over 132.5m euros on players, fans were still dissatisfied as they believe that despite the strengthening of certain areas of the squad, some gaps that derailed their Champions League quest last season remained unfilled.
Read full articleCoach Mikel Arteta and Technical Director were given a sharp reminder of the shortfalls in the squad when three games into the season, the unwelcome yet familiar story of Thomas Partey getting injured hit them again.
With few days left before the summer transfer window closed, Arsenal had to enter desperate and frantic mode after Egyptian midfielder Mohammed Elneny who replaced Partey in the Arsenal starting suffered an injury in his first start for the club this season. A long-term injury, unfortunately.
Arsenal had to press the panic button on the last day of the transfer window with Brazilian and Aston Villa midfielder, Douglas Luiz the subject of three bids that were all turned down by his club.
There was a sense of disappointment and vindication from Arsenal fans as they have seen this incident play out repeatedly since the days of Arsene Wenger when the club lose its key players to injury and that thwarts their ambitions.
In his thriving ‘lone 6’ role, Thomas Partey is perhaps Arsenal’s most important player whose presence or otherwise determines whether the club win a game or loses.
His importance to the squad can be seen in Arsenal’s last 45 games. Partey played an underwhelming 28 and in those 28, victory came in 20 of them. In the 17 that Partey missed, Arsenal won 8 and lost 8 with one draw. In the 28 games he played, Arsenal lost just 6 and drew 2.
With Partey in the team, the club average 2.2 points per game compared to 1.5 without him. Their win percentage shoots up to 71.4 when he is on the team and nosedives to 47.1% when he is injured.
They average 2.0 goals per game when he is in the middle and have just 1.4 when he is out of the team. Defensively, Partey is key too, goals against when he is on the side is 1.0 and increase to 1.6 when he is not on the side.
In these impressive stats that provide numerical and cogent evidence of the importance of Partey to Arsenal lies the worrying stats of the number of games he has missed. In Arsenal’s last 45 Premier League games, he has missed 17 of them which is a worrying stat for Mikel Arteta’s side as there appears to be no one in the team who offers something close or similar to what Partey offers the side when he is fit.
According to the reliable Orbinho, Partey has started just 58% of Arsenal’s Premier League matches since his move from Atletico Madrid two seasons ago. This was before he missed Arsenal’s games against Fulham, Aston Villa and Manchester United. What this means is that Arsenal have had their most important player not available for selection for 42% of the time he has been with the club.
These stats show that remarkably incredible yet unreliable player who a club or country cannot depend on for consistent success.
A look at Partey’s numbers with the Black Stars since he moved to Arsenal shows that in 26 games (including the latest matches against Nicaragua and Brazil) played, the midfield enforcer has missed 14 and featured in 12. That’s more than 50% of games.
The stats supplied by GHPL Stats, Derrick Ayim indicate that in the 12 matches he played, Ghana won Ghana 4, lost 4, and drew the same amount. He scored four and assisted four in those 12 games.
Of course, he is important and will prove decisive but the handlers of the Black Stars should be picking cues from the failure of Arsenal to plan for life without their marquee yet undependable player.
Partey’s injuries were a reason the club missed out on the Champions League by a whisker last season and could be a reason they fail to meet their target again this season and Otto Addo and his cohorts should be thinking along the line of preparing their team for the World Cup without Partey.
Preparing for a crucial tournament without factoring in a player who plays for a top six club in Europe’s most competitive league might sound ridiculous and unrealistic but in order not to be caught in the same situation as Arsenal, it is imperative that Otto Addo prepares his team with Partey not at the centre of it as there is a real likelihood that he would miss the World Cup or miss some of the games.
