Arsenal 29 year-old hailed for ‘Man of the Match performance’ against Spurs | OneFootball

Arsenal were thoroughly impressive again this weekend in dispatching of north London rivals Tottenham 3-1 on Saturday, with a number of players being nominated for the Man of the Match award.

While Granit Xhaka picked up the official award, with Gabriel Jesus handing him the award during their post-match interview, there was a number of other notable performances worthy of mention, and for former West Ham defender Matt Upson it should have gone to Thomas Partey.

“He was man of the match for me,” he said live on Stadium Astro. “I thought he was excellent. In terms of obviously the goal contribution, but the simplicity as well. We spoke about him being that rock, that anchor the midfield and allowing Xhaka and Odegaard to drift, knowing they’ve got Partey behind them,” Upson said.

“Today he was excellent. Had involvement in a lot of goals in terms of passing in the build up. For me that’s a man of the match performance for a midfield player.”

Thomas Partey’s goal was amazing, and definitely stands out as the goal of the game, but it was a top overall performance from the entire team also. His role in the team has helped us to become a much better unit both defensively and offensively, and his performances this term have been a little overshadowed by others, and it is nice that he is getting the praise he deserves.

If he can stay fit and continue to thrive in his new role alongside Xhaka this term, we could well be a danger to Manchester City when push comes to shove.

Patrick