Mikel Arteta gets clear Declan Rice message for best Arsenal role amid Thomas Partey question
Mikel Arteta has been sent another clear reminder of how important keeping Thomas Partey at the club will be despite the signing of Declan Rice. The Gunners paid £105million to sign Rice from West Ham and looked set to push him straight into the starting XI in place of Partey who had been linked with an exit from Emirates Stadium.
After selling Granit Xhaka to Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal were also open to letting Partey leave at the right price with Juventus showing an interest. football.london understands a Saudi Arabian club had also made a personal terms offer to the Ghana international.
However, Arteta himself revealed that he had no intention of selling Partey ahead of the 2023/24 season. "Without a question of a doubt," Arteta replied when asked if he was part of his plans this season. "Thomas is a super important player for us and for me. I want him to be part of the team. That’s for sure.Every time I spoke to him and had a conversation with him he’s ready to stay with us. For me, there’s nothing there at all." Partey's ability to shield the defence was crucial for the Gunners last season despite his minor dip in form towards the end of the campaign.
After both playing as defensive midfielders there is a noticeable difference in the data gathered in the areas teams will want their No.6 to thrive in. In four key metrics - duels won, duel success rate, tackles won and tackles won per 90 minutes, Partey had better stats than Rice.
The Arsenal lynchpin won six duels per 90 with Rice at 4.6, while Partey had a higher duel success rate at 58.70 per cent compared to the England international's 58.60 per cent. 1.5 is the number of tackles won by Partey with Rice at 1.1 while there was nearly a 10 per cent gap in tackles won per 90 minutes (57.10 for Partey and 48.10 for Rice.)
While Rice fell short to Partey in those categories, the 24-year-old averaged 9.2 possessions won per 90 minutes compared to Partey’s 8.2 and 1.7 interceptions to the former Atletico Madrid man's 1.0. One of Xhaka's main jobs was to win possession back for Arsenal if they were caught in transition and based on the numbers that looks be to one of Rice's main strengths.
However, Partey had better passing stats than Rice, which could further hint an advanced eight role will be the best position for him at Arsenal. During his final few months at West Ham, Rice showed an inkling to contribute further forward with multiple goals and assists coming his way.
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