Alan Shearer Claims £200k p/w Ace Cost Arsenal During Disappointing Loss vs PSG
Calum Ritchie
8 – 10 minutes
Arsenal suffered a disappointing 1-0 home defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. Ousmane Dembele put a dagger in the hearts of the Emirates faithful with a third-minute strike, which proved to be enough for the Parisiens to take a narrow lead back to France.
Heading into the game, confidence was high in north London after Mikel Arteta’s men dispatched reigning champions Real Madrid in the previous round with relative ease. However, the visiting team were also in high spirits heading into the blockbuster encounter after knocking out Premier League winners Liverpool and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa in the earlier knockout rounds.
Within just a few moments of the first whistle, the Gunners’ supporters were silenced after a swift attack from PSG saw Luis Enrique’s men go from back to front in a matter of seconds, with Dembele spreading the ball out wide to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before sweeping the ball into the far corner when receiving it back from the Georgian.
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Alan Shearer Spots Glaring Absence in Arsenal’s Side
Thomas Partey’s suspension appeared to play a big part in PSG’s goal
Arsenal’s first-choice midfield trio throughout the season has seen Thomas Partey play at the base with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard flanking the African number five. However, a needless yellow card against Real Madrid – which angered Rice at the time – saw the £200,000-per-week man miss out Tuesday evening through suspension.
Mikel Merino, who had been deputising as a makeshift centre-forward in recent weeks, was asked to drop into a number eight role, with Rice moving back to fill Partey’s shoes. Despite the Englishman being very experienced in this role, it appeared that Dembele’s goal could have been prevented by Partey’s specialist abilities.
This wasn’t just apparent to those watching at home but the commentators too. Alan Shearer was working as part of Prime Sport’s coverage of the meeting, and pointed out that he felt the goal would have been prevented with Arteta’s usual midfield fulcrum. The ex-England striker stated:
“I’m not sure they would’ve got that ball into Dembele in the third minute. I think he [Partey] would have been there sweeping it up.”
Arsenal Fans Rue Thomas Partey’s Suspension
‘We are clearly paying for Partey’s stupidity’
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Supporters were left frustrated by the very point Shearer made as they were quick to take to social media during the game to explain how the team had been forced to pay for the 31-year-old’s ‘stupidity’. One said: “That silly Thomas Partey yellow card has left us with a hollow midfield.”
In relation to the Dembele goal and the lack of an Arsenal player picking up the attacker on the edge of the penalty area, a fan pointed out: “That’s the Thomas Partey effect showing clearly,” while another added: “We are clearly paying for Partey’s stupidity.”
Rice wasn’t the only one left annoyed at the midfielder for picking up the booking when the Real Madrid tie was already over. One other supporter posted: “That Thomas Partey yellow card in Madrid looks more and more stupid with every passing minute.” It was also noted that both Rice and Merino were forced out of their favoured positions in recent weeks:
“Partey’s absence has killed our midfield. Merino is doing his best at 8, but not like Rice and Trossard at 9 is not good enough all season. We lost 2 positions due to that yellow in Madrid.”
