Partey absence pivotal 

©TM/IMAGO

What was one of the most anticipated nights at the Emirates since the stadium was built in 2006 quickly turned into one of the toughest evening’s Mikel Arteta’s team has faced this season. The lacklustre ‘Tifo’ displayed by the club pre-kick off was somewhat a prophecy of what was to come – uninspiring. Paris-Saint-Germain won the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal 1-0 in north London, and at times overwhelmed the Gunners. Without Thomas Partey at the base of their midfield, with the Ghanian serving a one-match suspension, Declan Rice was moved into the no.6 position. Not only is Rice not as comfortable on the half turn as Partey and finds it more difficult to pick up the ball in tight areas and move it forward, Arsenal also lost the energy and drive that comes with Rice as a no.8.

In the pre-match warm up, Rice was caught on camera mouthing the words, “If we don’t have the ball, we die”, and thats exactly what happened to Arsenal in the first 30 minutes of the game. In the opening moments, Rice himself tried to jump to initiate a press on PSG’s defence, but Arsenal’s back four and midfielders around Rice didn’t jump with him, meaning there was a 30 yard gap in the middle of the pitch. Ousmane Dembélé exploited this and picked up the ball between the lines before moving it out wide to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The ball came back to the Frenchman and after a somewhat fortunate strike, the Gunners were 1-0 behind. Arsenal then spent the next 25 minutes reluctant to press at all in fear of that same pattern repeating itself. It meant PSG had complete control.

In the last 15 minutes of the first-half Arsenal finally organically began to press again and got some joy. Gabriel Martinelli was denied by a great save from Gianluigi Donnarumma after some superb play from teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly from an inverted position. Bukayo Saka was also controversially denied what could have been a great chance late in the half as he was deemed to have fouled Nuno Mendes, but replays showed that wasn’t the case. Overall, there can be little doubt PSG deserved their win, and with late chances spurned by Bradley Barcola and Gonçalo Ramos, it could have been more. At Transfermarkt, we try to break down where it went wrong for Arteta’s team on a frustrating night at the Emirates.

Is Thomas Partey Arsenal’s most important player?

Partey’s daft yellow card against Real Madrid for getting caught up in a scuffle with Dani Ceballos proved to be very costly for Arsenal. It meant he missed the first-leg, and it was a catalyst for a lot of Arsenal’s issues. Rice was man of the match in both legs against Madrid. His energy galvanised the team. His skillset of driving with the ball, and constantly hurrying opposition midfielders off the ball, helped the Gunners dominate midfield. The Englishman is perfectly suited for that no.8 role in Arteta’s team. Unfortunately, his profile just isn’t so suited to the no.6 role in this Arsenal side. Partey’s is. 

As illustrated in the graphic above, across the last three seasons, Arsenal’s win percentage and goals-scored-per-game have been at 65% and 2.16gspg respectively with the Ghanian in the starting XI. Without him the win percentage stands at just 57% and there have been just 2.02gspg. Arsenal also concede less and lose far less when Partey is the hub of their midfield. Partey is the most press resistant player in this Arsenal team. He knows where the space is, and knows how to manipulate his body to exploit it. He takes risks and sometimes loses it, but often releases Arsenal from pressure and initiates attacks. He was sorely missed in north London, and his presence in Paris next week can give the Gunners hope of turning things around.

Captain Martin Ødegaard fails to deliver on big night

With others unavailable, it felt like a night where captain Martin Ødegaard needed to step up and be Arsenal’s creative force. The Norwegian didn’t really show up. He didn’t demand the ball, and when he did get in the final third, offered little to no creativity. Arsenal needed the magic he is capable of, but it never came. The French media described Ødegaard as “a ghost” on the pitch. He had just 42 touches and completed just one key pass – the same amount as teenager Ethan Nwaneri managed in just four minutes on the pitch.

As highlighted in the graphic above, the Arsenal captain has failed to replicate his attacking numbers form the past two full seasons this campaign. In the 2022/23 season he provided 22 goal contributions. Last term it was the same with 22. This season, he is on just 13 and has played almost the same amount of matches. An ankle injury last year did disrupt the Norwegian’s campaign – he has failed to reach the same levels since his return. There’s no doubt, there is still a fantastic player in there, but Ødegaard is currently living off his reputation, rather than his form, and will need to show a much hungrier captain’s performance in Paris next week.