Rules
This feels a bit like virtue signalling. And I say that as someone who was ready to cut ties from when the allegations first came to light.
If a player is innocent and you stand by them, you're the best club in the world. If he's guilty you're the worst and vice versa.
Arsenal definitely shouldn't have offered him a new contract though.
Arteta supporting him seems weird, to be honest
Their decision to keep on playing him, coupled with the vocal support offered by manager Mikel Arteta — who described how happy he was for Partey after he scored the opening goal in Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Tottenham in October 2022 (“for what he’s been through and the injuries… I’m so happy for him, he deserves it”) — already left them open to criticism.
None of us know what Arteta was referring to.
I just listened to the interview
https://x.com/footballontnt/status/1576208908850454528
Yeah, Arteta should probably do another round of media training, that was an ambiguous statement
https://old.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/xswv2a/bt_sport_arteta_on_partey_for_what_hes_been/
Not sure what everyone wants. Everyone wanted Mendy hung out to dry and he was innocent, career in tatters. Arsenal took his word and the lack of charges at face value. Even if he is found guilty, the club hasn't done anything wrong. Had he been charged and they didn't suspend him or end his contract, it'd be a different story.
I stumbled upon this article: https://arsenaltruefans.com/2025/01/arteta-under-fire-the-controversial-decision-to-keep-playing-thomas-partey
Bench him, and Arsenal risks losing a vital cog in their setup. Play him, and Arteta risks being seen as dismissive of the gravity of the allegations. It’s a delicate balancing act.
The balance is probably the issue, it's one thing to keep having play to avoid a Mendy situation, but it's probably another to keep him as a central element of the team as if nothing is happening.
In all fairness, we signed Zubimendi from January. The second half of the season, we were ravaged by injuries and had little choice, but we'd clearly made plans for after Partey.
Somehow I even missed that Zubimendi was moving to Arsenal