Arsenal star who gifted PSG victory must be axed by Andrea Berta – opinion.
Published 8th May 2025, 03:00 BST
Thomas Partey is coming to the end of his contract at Arsenal and could leave the Emirates Stadium for free this summer.
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Arsenal hopes of beating Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night were largely pinned on the return of Thomas Partey into the centre of the park. In hindsight, those were lofty ambitions.
The 31-year-old is in the final months of his contract with the Gunners and a haphazard performance in the French capital will surely end speculation over a potential extension.
Partey is a fine midfielder but, if Arsenal hope to build a team capable of winning the Champions League, Partey has proven he is not the man for that.
Arsenal lacked some bite in the middle of the park last week and that was put down to the Ghanaian’s absence.
Partey was suspended having accumulated too many yellow cards – the booking that led to that suspension was stupid in itself, a needless late push on Real Madrid man Dani Ceballos.
Thomas Partey errors against Paris Saint-Germain
Many predicted a redemption arc for Partey at the Parc des Princes.
There were moments of promise, particularly when delivering long throws into the box, but two huge errors on the biggest stage must have effectively burnt that contract extension.
PSG took the lead through a Fabian Ruiz volley.
The Spaniard smashed home from the edge of the box, helped by a deflection of William Saliba, giving David Raya no chance. Really, the ball should never have fallen to Ruiz.
When dealing with the PSG free kick prior, the ball was put in and looked a comfortable header for Partey to clear.
The midfielder didn’t make the best contact and his clearance fell right into the danger area. Really, he needed to head it anywhere but there.
Arsenal will still in the game until the second PSG goal went in.
Again, it was Partey’s error that had Arsenal fans tearing their hair out.
The player could easily have intercepted the ball before it reached Hakimi but got his feet mixed up and looked to be sleepwalking in his defensive duties.
Arsenal still to decide on Partey contract extension
It had been widely thought that both Partey and fellow out-of-contract midfielder Jorginho would leave the Emirates Stadium this summer when out of contract.
However, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claimed last month that no official decision on a renewal had been made with new technical director Andrea Berta still to assess the situation.
Watching on Wednesday night, that must have helped Berta make up his mind.
While it will pain Arsenal financially to lose Partey, who cost the club £45 million in 2020, it is better that than the midfielder taking up space on the wage bill.
Football Insider claims that the midfielder is earning a huge £150,000 a week.
That expenditure is not a viable one if Arsenal are looking to build a team winning Premier League and Champions League titles.
Partey has been a good servant and is a player capable of playing in the Champions League, he has proved that. Winning it, though? It appears not.
Read more, Champions League Prize Money: Arsenal winnings confirmed after PSG defeat.
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