Thomas Partey names one Arsenal player who is seriously ‘improving’ after 1-1 Brighton draw

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Mikel Arteta was once again forced to deploy Thomas Partey at right-back during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.

Although he’s among the first-choice in midfield, there’s arguably three Arsenal players ahead of Partey on the right side of defence, options who were unavailable to Arteta.

Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are both injured, whereas Jurrien Timber was suspended owing to a yellow card he received against Brentford.

Partey’s quality is hindered as a right-back, and given Arsenal are then also missing his vertical passing in midfield as a result, it serves as something of a ‘double whammy’.

Given Brighton’s high line, the space was there for Partey’s passing to prove effective, yet he was stuck defending one-on-one with the likes of Kaoru Mitoma, which isn’t his strength.

Thomas Partey praises Ethan Nwaneri after first Premier League goal

That being said, Arsenal youngster Ethan Nwaneri is very effective in those isolated situations at the other end of the pitch himself.

And after putting the Gunners ahead on the south coast with a driving run and finish, Partey was seriously impressed with young Nwaneri when speaking after the game.

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Partey shared that Nwaneri had been ‘working a lot’ behind the scenes to reach this level of quality, which is recognised by all of those around him.

Partey said: “Yeah he is a very good player and we know the qualities he has, he’s working a lot and he’s improving and I’m really happy for him today for scoring and also it could have been better if we won today, but we did not get the win.

“He needs to keep improving and all the best to him.”

Mikel Arteta shares ‘really bad’ Ethan Nwaneri injury update

Of course, Arsenal lost Nwaneri to injury during the game, another cruel moment of misfortune for Arteta’s team.

And speaking of bad luck, those who travelled down to the south coast from N5 are probably still feeling aggrieved about Anthony Taylor’s decision to award Brighton a penalty.

Gary Lineker shared his penalty verdict, one that both Micah Richards and Danny Murphy also agreed with.

Luck is clearly not on Arsenal’s side right now, which is particularly concerning for Arteta given the mammoth task they already face in catching Liverpool.

Ian Wright was pleased Arsenal didn’t lose, but in reality, a draw did very little for the Gunners’ chances of ending their Premier League wait.