Arsenal secured a 3-0 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night.
The Gunners had a good opening half at the Emirates Stadium but lacked the cutting edge in the final third to break the deadlock.
However, they made a significant improvement after the break. Declan Rice grabbed the headlines with two sensational free-kicks.
The Englishman had not scored a free-kick in his career. He came up with two world-class strikes to beat goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Mikel Merino put the gloss to the performance with a sublime curler from a Myles Lewis-Skelly assist.
Rice and Merino earned the plaudits after the game but midfielder Thomas Partey was exceptional in the centre of the park.
The Ghanaian dominated Madrid’s trio of Luka Modric, Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga.
He had 76 touches in the game with a passing accuracy of 94 percent. Partey completed 100 percent of his long balls with four duels won.
The 31-year-old also made six recoveries and was unlucky not to open the scoring in the first half.
Partey’s headed from a Bukayo Saka corner unfortunately hit William Saliba, who was present on the goalline.
In our opinion, it was one of the best performances by a defensive midfielder against Madrid.
Arsenal are reportedly poised to sign Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi after their long-term pursuit this summer.
Jorginho appears on his way out, with his contract expiring on June 30. He is negotiating with Flamengo over a free transfer.
Partey is also contracted until the end of June. We believe Arsenal must hand him a new contract after the season he has had.
The £13 million-rated star has had injury concerns in the past, but the current campaign is undoubtedly his best for the Gunners.
Partey is prioritising a free transfer to Barcelona this summer, as per Mundo Deportivo yesterday.
We firmly feel Arsenal must keep him in their squad next term even if they were to recruit Zubimendi from Sociedad for a huge outlay.
Manager Mikel Arteta could rotate between the two. A reduced workload would get the best out of Partey, nullifying any injury risk.
Stats from Fotmob.com & Transfermarkt.com
