While Americans are filling out their March Madness predictions, the race for the top four in the English Premier League has continued to heat up. Thomas Partey and Arsenal Football Club defeated Watford FC 3-2 last Saturday in a thrilling game of English Premier League action.
“We are getting better and better, the understanding between the players is getting better, and we should have scored more today,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told BBC Sport after the match.
This win marked Arsenal’s fourth straight domestic victory and earned them their 13th points from a possible 15 in the last five games.
Thomas Partey earned the starting nod once again in a midfield double-pivot with Swiss international, Granit Xhaka. The pair was integral in Arsenal dominating possession and finishing with a 57-43% advantage in ball retention.
Martin Ødegaard only needed until the fifth minute to break the deadlock, smashing home a shot from a Bukayo Saka assist. Saka himself and Gabriel Martinelli later joined the score sheet after Watford’s Cucho Hernandez equalized in the 11th minute, and Moussa Sissoko snatched a consolation goal in the 87th.
Arsenal’s Climb Continues
Arsenal’s latest victory moved them past Manchester United and into sole control of fourth place in the table with three games in hand over the fifth and sixth place (Man U and Wolverhampton Wanderers), as well as the league-leading Manchester City. Third-place Chelsea is five points above Arsenal with one more game played.
This has been a long time coming for Arsenal fans, who thought that they were destined to rise to the top of the table as soon as they brought in club legend and right-hand man of Pep Guardiola, Mikel Arteta, to head their squad. Disappointment soon followed, however, as the Gunners failed to restore the legacy and dominance that they had once enjoyed.
Heading into this season, there was a new optimism around the club; recruitment had improved, young talents like Saka and Emile Smith Rowe had begun to blossom, and there was a blank slate. When the club paid £45 million to Atletico Madrid for Thomas Partey, and soon after, £50 million for Ben White, they seemed to be in as good of shape as they had been to mount a top-four challenge since Arsène Wenger left.
Turning the Season Around
Much to the disappointment of Arsenal fans, their season did not get off to the picture-perfect start that they had hoped for. Partey and others missed time with injuries, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (now of FC Barcelona) fell out of form and then was stripped of his captaincy for disciplinary issues, and the Gunners struggled to knick points off of top sides.
However, many of these concerns look to be like a thing of the past; the team has been playing a visually attractive style of football that has, most importantly, translated to wins, and they are as hot as they have ever been.
“I see how willing [the players] are every day to train and improve,” said Arteta after Saturday’s 3-2 win over Watford. “I think they are enjoying playing together and when some days it is not your best day, you somehow manage to win, and that is important.”
Whether because of a thin squad or a lack of European competition allowing him to, Arteta has settled pretty heavily on a skeleton for his starting XI— one that revolves around the work rate of Thomas Partey in the midfield.
The Ghanaian is an imposing force with a physical build much greater than the midfielders and attackers that he is usually responsible for marking and has worked well as the ball-winner and risk-taker next to Xhaka. He also has been influential in the counterattack and able to provide outlets to Martinelli, Saka, Smith Rowe, and Alexandre Lacazette, which has helped create goals.
Arsenal still has 13 games left in its season, but the club is in as strong of a position as it has been in some years.
The Gunners will be back in action on Sunday when they play away at Leicester City.
