Ghana midfielder, Thomas Partey has explained why he did not take off his Arsenal jersey to show his tribute to late Christian Atsu when he scored against AFC Bournemouth.
The Black Stars talisman scored on March 4, the very day the family of Christian Atsu was observing the one week of his demise.
In the game against Bournemouth in the English Premier League, he scored to inspire Arsenal to come from behind to win 3-2.
Speaking to SuperSport, Thomas Partey has explained that he did not show the tribute under his jersey when he scored because Arsenal was losing and the team needed the game to restart.
According to him, it was not because he was scared of receiving a yellow card.
“I still don’t believe Atsu is no more you know. It was a sad moment during that week or the week before where I was thinking a lot. Comparing myself also because it could have been anybody and it was him so I was just sad.
“The day before I called the kitman to print this for me, begging him to do it for me. When I scored I was not going to show it at the point because I know it was not the right time because we are losing 2-1,” Thomas Partey explained.
Listen below:
🇬🇭 "The day before the game I called the kit man to print this for me, begging him to do it for me."
Thomas Partey on his touching tribute to Christian Atsu in the comeback win over Bournemouth 💛 pic.twitter.com/Yb1GQZfv9J
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 12, 2023