Former Arsenal legend Martin Keown believes the sight of Thomas Partey walking off the pitch as Tottenham surged forward to double their lead in the North London derby is another example of Arsenal’s “footballing brain not functioning” in 2020-21.
After Heung-Min Son's stunning long-range strike had given Spurs the lead on the counter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Arsenal were hit by another break in first-half stoppage-time as the injured Partey vacated midfield and allowed Harry Kane to double the lead.
Arteta was seen attempting to push the 27-year-old back onto the field moments before Kane rifled Spurs into an insurmountable lead, and the Gunners boss admitted his player was in the wrong to leave the pitch.
Keown concedes that Tottenham look to be the real deal, certainly in North London, with Arsenal slipping alarmingly off the pace.
"It was a world-class opener by Son Heung-min but nobody in an Arsenal shirt tested him. With the time he had, he could have got a protractor out to measure the angles of the shot," Keown told the Daily Mail.
"Then Tottenham’s second goal was a copy of the first: Arsenal lost possession high up the pitch and were punished on the counter. Thomas Partey had walked off because he was injured, and this was an example of a team’s footballing brain not functioning.
"Both of Arsenal’s full backs, Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney, had flown forward as if they were still being used as wing backs. Suddenly, one ball out and it was four on two in favour of Tottenham.
"Where was the communication? Arsenal over-committed in this game and encouraged the opposition to break.
"Tottenham, meanwhile, were compact and picked their moments to pounce. Their two midfielders, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Moussa Sissoko, were never too far from their central defenders.
"Arsenal had 70 per cent possession but Spurs knew what to do when they didn’t have the ball. They put up a shield. Even Harry Kane had more touches in his own box than the opposition one.
"Tottenham’s players are working so hard and have bought into Jose Mourinho’s messages. They’re morphing from a group of nice guys into a team of Mourinhos."