‘I can’t stop praising Him regardless’: Mikel Arteta left seriously impressed with one Arsenal player despite Forest defeat yesterday
Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal star after his display for Arsenal yesterday, despite the defeat at Nottingham Forest.
Arsenal officially missed out on the Premier League title on Saturday as a 1-0 defeat led to Manchester City being crowned as champions for the third year running.
The Gunners have enjoyed an exceptional campaign but ultimately fell short at the final hurdle.
Mikel Arteta’s men weren’t at their best against a Forest side who were fighting for Premier League survival. Steve Coopers’ side ensured they will play in England’s top flight again next season thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s first-half effort.
Arteta opted to play Thomas Partey in a new role yesterday as he started in the Arsenal backline and drifted into midfield, much like John Stones has done for Man City this season.
And despite a disappointing result on the day, The Gunners boss was impressed with Partey’s display.
Arteta impressed with Partey display
“We had a lot of issues during the week with players that haven’t been able to train, that they only trained half an hour yesterday, we could’ve done it, I think that Thomas [Partey] played a really good game in that position,” Arteta said.
“Again when you lose, I should’ve done something different, that’s for sure.” as quoted by Arsenal’s official website.
Arsenal fans will undoubtedly be disappointed with the way they’ve finished the season.
But Arteta’s men weren’t expected to be anywhere near a race for the title before the season began and they will be hoping to build on what has been a promising campaign.
As for Partey, the Ghanaian has been going through a difficult run of form lately and it was interesting to see Arteta use him in a new role ahead of next season.
The 29-year-old is expected to face added competition for a place in the Gunners side next season, especially if Declan Rice makes the switch to north London.
Arteta may have been experimenting with getting Partey in the side without using space up in midfield.
