THOMAS PARTEY was seen being PUSHED back onto the pitch by Mikel Arteta after he hobbled off injured in the build-up to Tottenham’s second goal.
The Ghanaian had not played since November 8 because of injury but was rushed back for the crucial north London derby.
Thomas Partey walked off the pitch with the action still underway against Tottenham
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta physically pushed Partey back onto the pitch – but Spurs scored on the counter-attack
Partey was a surprise inclusion in the Gunners’ squad after Mikel Arteta said he would ‘miss the next few games’ last week.
But that decision backfired with £45million Partey picking up an injury in the first half.
It further backfired when the midfielder inexplicably walked off the pitch while the game was still going on.
Rather than going down or waiting for a break in play, Partey headed for the sideline with Arsenal on the attack.
But as Tottenham countered, there was a huge hole in midfield, leaving Spurs facing a four-on-two.
Son Heung-min – who had scored a brilliant opener – and Harry Kane combined again to ruthless effect, the latter smashing in off the bar to make it 2-0 just before the break.
Footage later appeared of Arsenal boss Arteta physically PUSHING Partey back onto the pitch.
But that ALSO ended in disaster with the former Atletico Madrid man sprinting about ten yards before pulling up clearly hurt.
Thomas Partey hobbled off injured in a nightmare first-half for Arsenal at SpursCredit: Kevin Quigley-The Daily Mail
Mikel Arteta urged his injured midfielder to get back on and defend as Tottenham went 2-0 upCredit: Kevin Quigley-The Daily Mail
Partey was replaced by Dani Ceballos who came on in the holding midfield role alongside Granit Xhaka.
Spurs cruised through the second half and were rarely troubled on their way to a 2-0 win.
Arteta said after the game: “I wanted him on the pitch doing whatever he could for the team in that situation. Anyway he could not carry on playing.
“Maybe we were a little too cautious with Son but it was a wonder goal. It is what they do really well, they did it once because the second we were a man down.
“The fight and the spirit and the way they played in this stadium is to applause bit it is not enough to win football matches because we are not scoring goals.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
