Arsenal star who won 13 duels was “monstrous” against Liverpool

Master of the dark arts. That’s a phrase thrown Arsenal‘s way over the season so far. More dark arts were certainly employed by Mikel Arteta and Co this week.

Will Bukayo Saka be fit? Will Jurrien Timber feature? The Gunners boss even managed to keep them away from the Sky cameras during a Friday training session. There were worries, understandably so, that neither would make it.

With Riccardo Calafiori also not being seen in those pictures, it looked like Arsenal had somewhat of an injury crisis.

Well, Saka and Timber both made the starting XI for the visit of Liverpool on Sunday and boy did the former make an impact.

It’s tricky to know how Arsenal will feel after that one. They drew 2-2, they led twice and could, perhaps should have taken all three points. Liverpool, you sense, might be the happier of the two sides being the away team.

Alas, it was more dropped points for the Gunners even if there were plenty of positives to take from the game, notably Saka’s performance.

Arsenal’s best performers vs Liverpool

All of the debate pre-game concerned Saka’s potential absence. Last weekend against Bournemouth the 23-year-old was sorely missed as they slipped to a rare Premier League defeat in 2024.

As if we needed any clarity, he showed just why he’s so important with an incredible display, particularly in the opening half, against Arne Slot’s men.

Within just nine minutes, the winger had the ball in the back of the net after a sensational piece of play. Stand-in centre-half Ben White – who was excellent in place of the suspended William Saliba – picked up a delightful assist, looping the ball in behind Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson.

Saka raced onto it, nutmegged the Scottish defender and then lashed a rasping left-footed effort past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. It was unstoppable, it was brilliant.

Saka wasn’t the only key performer, however. Fellow goalscorer Mikel Merino proved exactly why Arsenal wanted to bring him to the club this summer and alongside Declan Rice, they were marvellous in the centre of the pitch. Between them, they won a whopping ten duels.

However, special praise must be reserved for makeshift right-back Thomas Partey too.

Thomas Partey’s performance in numbers

There were several key battles during the game on Sunday and one of them was always going to be Partey against Luis Diaz.

Arsenal’s number 5 was forced to play at right-back due to mounting issues at the back for Arteta and Co.

With Saliba suspended and Calafiori out with injury, it meant normal right-backs White and Jurrien Timber had to play at centre-back and left-back respectively. So, there was naturally a worry when a central midfielder had to start on the right.

How did Partey do? Well, in the words of Arsenal content creator Bhavs, he was “monstrous” in defence, perhaps surprisingly so too.

The Ghanaian was going to have no problems adapting to the role of an inverted full-back role but it was actually in defence where he impressed most.

Liverpool winger Diaz got little change from the former Atletico Madrid man and was actually substituted just after the hour mark having completed just nine passes and succeeded with only one of his four dribble attempts. That was largely thanks to the excellent Partey.

As you can see, he was particularly astute at the back, winning a colossal 13 duels and five tackles. He may have ceded possession on 17 occasions but still managed to end the game with an impressive 87% pass accuracy.

Partey didn’t offer much in forward areas, not registering a key pass or having a shot but that was not his duty today. His duty was to keep Diaz quiet and he did an admirable job.

This certainly isn’t a long-term fix but it was good to know either way that the 31-year-old can do a job in that position when required.

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Arsenal take on Liverpool this weekend in the Premier League.