Arsenal star issues public apology for poor performance despite Leicester win

Arsenal left it late to secure a 2-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday thanks to a brace from midfielder Mikel Merino – who played as a makeshift striker – but Thomas Partey was under-par in midfield

Arsenal star Thomas Partey has admitted he was “not at his best” during the team’s 2-0 win at Leicester on Saturday.

The Gunners initially looked under-par at the King Power Stadium without a succession of key players after Kai Havertz was ruled out for the season, with Leandro Trossard starting as a makeshift striker.

After watching the likes of Raheem Sterling struggle to make an impact against the Foxes, Mikel Arteta brought midfielder Mikel Merino on as a substitute to play as a striker. It paid off as the Spaniard scored a late brace to inspire their victory.

Partey played 76 minutes of the game before being hooked for Jorginho and he uploaded a post on Instagram with a candid assessment of his performance. He said: “On days when I’m not at my best, the strength of the team carries us to victory. Vamoooosss.”

In the end, it was Merino who carried Arsenal to victory on a difficult day and Arteta reserved special praise for his super sub – but admitted the team were lucky that he shoned in front of goal.

“I think the game started to suit him more because they started to defend much more deeper, and we had more momentum, more sequences, more set-pieces as well in that period. And we believed that he could impact the game,” said Arteta. “We were lucky that he did it.

“We’re going to have to share that and we know that. We’re going to have various contexts, sometimes we’re going to have to make a sub because a player is not performing or because the opposition is doing something else or because he’s got a yellow card or he’s fatigued.

“And that’s going to restrict what we can do, really, in terms of the personnel. But we have prepared for different scenarios. Then those scenarios have to work. Hopefully, they will work as good as Mikel worked today.”

While Merino was the man who ultimately stole the show, Partey has still been an important player for the Gunners in their push to win the Premier League title this season.

The Ghanaian has started 21 league games for Arsenal under Arteta, scoring three and assisting two so far.

Partey – a £45m signing in 2020 – has started a further further ten in all competitions to help Arsenal fight on multiple fronts.

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