‘Partey is an example of Arsenal’s footballing brain not functioning’

The Arsenal midfielder was powerless to prevent a derby defeat on Sunday and instead caught the eye of a club legend for the wrong reasons.

Martin Keown believes the sight of an injured Thomas Partey walking off the pitch as Tottenham scored their second goal of the match is an ‘example of a team’s footballing brain not functioning’.

Partey returned from injury to make a welcome return to the Arsenal line-up for his first-ever north London derby.

But the Ghanian’s first experience of one of the most intense English rivalries was a forgettable one. He appeared to lack fitness and his passing was off before sustaining a knock which forced him off the pitch.

Only Mikel Arteta trying to push Thomas Partey back onto the pitch to try and stop Spurs’ second goal 😂

pic.twitter.com/TG0mDbG3aE

— The Spurs Web ⚪️ (@thespursweb) December 6, 2020

But Partey’s departure left Arsenal exposed and arguably opened the door for Harry Kane to score a second to settle a 2-0 win for Spurs, leaving Keown very unimpressed.

The former Gunners defender told the Daily Mail: “It was a world-class opener by Son Heung-min but nobody in an Arsenal shirt tested him.

“With the time he had, he could have got a protractor out to measure the angles of the shot.

“Then Tottenham’s second goal was a copy of the first: Arsenal lost possession high up the pitch and were punished on the counter. Thomas Partey had walked off because he was injured, and this was an example of a team’s footballing brain not functioning.

“Both of Arsenal’s full backs, Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney, had flown forward as if they were still being used as wing backs. Suddenly, one ball out and it was four on two in favor of Tottenham.

“Where was the communication? Arsenal over-committed in this game and encouraged the opposition to break.

“Tottenham, meanwhile, were compact and picked their moments to pounce. Their two midfielders, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Moussa Sissoko, were never too far from their central defenders.

“Arsenal had 70 percent possession but Spurs knew what to do when they didn’t have the ball. They put up a shield. Even Harry Kane had more touches in his own box than the opposition one.

“Tottenham’s players are working so hard and have bought into Jose Mourinho’s messages. They’re morphing from a group of nice guys into a team of Mourinhos.”