Asamoah Gyan: Ghana misses ‘generational talent’ Thomas Partey

The former Black Stars captain urged Ghanaians to be more compassionate towards the midfielder in the wake of his injury woes.

Partey burst on the scene when he joined Atletico Madrid in 2013 and went on to become a starter under Diego Simeone.

The 30-year-old spent seven years at the Spanish club and won a few trophies before joining Arsenal in the summer of 2020 for a fee in the region of €45 million.

For Ghana, he has also established himself as a key player, playing for the Black Stars in multiple AFCON tournaments and the FIFA World Cup.

However, the Arsenal midfielder has been blighted by injuries this season, causing him to spend about three months on the sidelines.

Gyan, who played with Partey in the Ghana national team, believes injuries have slowed the midfielder and said the Black Stars miss him.

“It’s unfortunate that we miss a player like Thomas Partey. He is a generational talent. This year the injuries have slowed him down a little. You can’t blame him for that,” he told Asempa FM.

“Even when he comes back it’ll take time for him to get back to his normal level. Sometimes when people criticize a player coming back from injury it’s unfair.”

Partey only made his return from injury a few weeks ago when he featured in Arsenal’s big victory against Sheffield United.

The Ghana midfielder came on as a second-half substitute as the Gunners made a statement with their 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield United in the Premier League.

Partey replaced Jorginho after the hour mark and played the final 25 minutes of the game as he continues to build his way to full fitness.

He made another appearance off the bench against Brentford in the Premier League but was an unused substitute as the Gunners defeated Porto in the Champions League round of 16 second leg, before making another substitute appearance against Manchester City last week.