Watch: Partey walks off pitch injured, Arteta pushes him back on, Spurs score
Arsenal‘s struggles under Mikel Arteta in the Premier League this season were summed up by one bizarre passage of play in the build-up to Tottenham‘s second goal in Sunday’s North London derby.
After inspiring a wave of optimism among Arsenal fans by winning last season’s FA Cup, Arteta has struggled to get a tune out of his players in 2020-21, with their struggles made all the worse by Tottenham’s fine start under Jose Mourinho.
And Spurs inflicted an early blow on their fragile opponents early on as Son Heung-min curled home a stunning opener into the top corner following fine work from Harry Kane on halfway.
Kane doubled the hosts’ lead before half-time as Tottenham hit Arsenal with an incisive breakaway.
Spurs benefited from a numerical advantage after Thomas Partey had walked off the pitch injured while the game was still in play, and Arteta was seen pushing the midfielder back onto the pitch as the opposition countered.
Partey appeared to pull up injured once more as he tried to sprint back, which summed up Arsenal’s opening 45 minutes.
Only Mikel Arteta trying to push Thomas Partey back onto the pitch to try and stop Spurs’ second goal 😂
— The Spurs Web ⚪️ (@thespursweb) December 6, 2020
Look at Thomas Partey 😂😂😂😂 Arsenal Fans come collect your legend #TOTARS #NLD pic.twitter.com/2rVybnG1Dv
— Hit n’ Miss (@HitnMiss7) December 6, 2020
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