Ghanaian International Thomas Partey boldly announced his presence on the pitch after just seven minutes of his introduction in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest that returns the Gunners to winning ways from a Premier League winless streak.
Partey was one of Arsenal’s powerful men surprisingly dropped by Mikel Arteta. Declan Rice and Kai Havertz were the other two stars that started on the bench.
By virtue of Partey’s bench place at the Emirates Stadium, the Ghanaian midfielder’s presence in the Arsenal setup became an issue of subjective and a potential deterrence to Arsenal’s victory.
But the shock prioritization of Mikel Merino, Jorginho and Martin Ødegaard in the pegging order immediately paid off. Returning captain Odegaard, playing his first Emirates Stadium game since August combined brilliantly with Saka down the Arsenal right and it was no surprise that the combination led to Arsenal’s opener after 15 minutes – with the England winger latching onto Odegaard’s flick before driving across the box and arrowing a superb effort into the far corner.
Arteta’s men continued to pressure Nottingham Forest who rarely tested Arsenal’ goalkeeper David Raya throughout the 90 minutes.
Partey’s presence turned objective and a major booster for his side when he was introduced as a 46′ minute substitute for Jorginho. Seven minutes into the Ghanaian’s introduction, his presence on the pitch was well announced and more objective scoring a stunning curler from 25 yards.
Most work was done by Bukayo Saka who rolled the ball for the unmarked Partey, he slammed it into the left side to make it 2-0 for the hosts. The 31-year old by that means got his second goal of the Premier League season with his first coming against Aston Villa in August.
Partey continued to play one of his best games for Arsenal this season and the perfect replacement for Jorginho. His recoveries and connects established Arsenal’s midfield which bedded the home side’s third goal coming through another substitute Ethan Nwaneri who scored his first Premier League goal, from a Raheem Sterling cutback two minutes from time.
Arsenal’s convincing win over Nottingham Forest, partly infected by Partey, ends their four-game Premier League winless streak.
