The Times - UK (2022-01-03)

Partey’s touches against City

HE ROAMED THE PITCH

the times | Monday January 3 2022 1GG 9

Thomas Partey. This

was the midfield

player’s 49th

appearance for

Arsenal since his

£45 million move from Atletico

Madrid 15 months ago. Those at

the Emirates finally got to

appreciate the logic behind the

outlay. Partey harried Manchester

City’s midfield, especially in the

first half, when Arsenal rose to

the standard that Mikel Arteta

expects. This was far more like it

from the Ghana midfielder,

recovering possession eight times,

and being voted man of the

match. He is now off to the Africa

Cup of Nations; whatever the

frustration among Arsenal fans,

it is an important tournament,

established in the calendar, and

clubs are aware when they buy

African players that they will

heed their country’s call. But

when he returns to north London,

Partey needs more regular

displays like Saturday’s.

WINTER’S

WEEKEND

WONDERS

2

Arsenal fans finally

see Partey in full flow

Darragh

MacAnthony.

On Saturday

Peterborough United’s

owner tweeted asking

“any League One, League Two or

Premier [League] reserve team

needing a game” to email the club

secretary. “We need some match

minutes... been nearly three weeks

since we played,” he wrote.

Peterborough’s most recent

match was on December 18, but

since then Covid-19 has ripped up

their fixture list. One response

read: “I play in a team of fat dads

that just play friendly games. No

slide tackling.” Peterborough fans

replied as well, pleading to watch.

Fans need match minutes too.

MacAnthony has a sense of

humour but there was serious side

to his request. Too many games

are being called off.

Owner uses Twitter

to request a friendly

Technician Lanzini shows his elegance

Manuel Lanzini. His

first for West Ham

United against Crystal

Palace was one of the

goals of the season,

starting with Declan Rice’s driving

run. Lanzini then showed his

technical ability with four elegant

touches, first using his right foot to

control Rice’s pass, then again to

steer it across Joachim Andersen.

Lanzini then used his left foot to

lift the ball up, and his fourth

touch sent a volley past Marc

Guehi and Vicente Guaita, the

goalkeeper. Joel Ward, Jeffrey

Schlupp and Tyrick Mitchell all

tried to recover but couldn’t.

Lanzini was lauded but Michail

Antonio deserves a respectful nod

for his run across the box,

punching the hole for Lanzini.

1

Chief Football Writer on Partey’s best

outing to date and magical Lanzini

3

Oliver Skipp.

Tottenham Hotspur

fans chanted the

midfield player’s

name after the 1-0

win against Watford. He came off

after 70 minutes but was again a

model of efficiency. Skipp wins

the ball and uses it well. He keeps

things simple. Whether Skipp is

the elite standard Antonio Conte

requires remains to be seen, but

he is only 21, and showed, with his

pressing and determination to

track runners, the commitment

Conte loves.

4

Conte must love

Skipp’s commitment

Michael Smith.

Rotherham United

have been one of the

stories of the season,

and reclaimed

the lead in League One from

Sunderland after their 2-1 win

over Bolton Wanderers. Smith’s

movement and determination

brought his two headed goals,

after crosses from Shane Ferguson

and Chiedozie Ogbene.

Smith was a threat throughout,

having another header saved, a

shot blocked and creating chances

for Ben Wiles and Freddie

Ladapo. He has 17 for the season

in all competitions and is

absolutely key to Rotherham’s

promotion campaign.

Smith proves his

value to Rotherham

5

City goalkeeper Ederson had not

deemed it a penalty. Gabriel was later

sent off after being shown a second

yellow card and is suspended for

Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi-final

first leg against Liverpool.

The Brazilian, 24, could also be hit

with further punishment for his angry

reaction towards Attwell and for

sarcastically applauding the fourth

official as he left the pitch.

after the game, leading the two sets of

fans to throw objects at each other.

Arsenal said Gabriel was booked

for dissent after City’s equaliser

from a penalty, having queried the

inconsistency of VAR interventions.

Attwell had awarded the spot kick

after being told to review Granit

Xhaka’s tackle on Bernardo Silva, but

a VAR review of the incident in which

Martin Odegaard was felled by the

other refereeing decisions had gone
against them. Rodri scored the winner
in stoppage time and the Spain
midfielder celebrated by running
towards the home fans, taking his shirt
off and throwing his arm towards
them. He was then pelted by objects
and Stuart Attwell, the referee, is
expected to include the incident in his
report. A fan also ran on to the pitch
and City supporters let off blue flares

to investigate crowd trouble at Emirates

Partey’s class

on Saturday

reminded fans

of the standard

he set at

Atletico Madrid

STUART MACFARLANE/ARSENAL/GETTY IMAGES