Shaka Hislop has admitted that he cannot understand what Mikel Arteta is trying to do with Thomas Partey after the Arsenal star started at right-back once again on Saturday.
Hislop was speaking to ESPN after Arsenal drew 2-2 with Fulham at the Emirates to drop points for the first time this season.
It was a day which will leave Mikel Arteta with plenty of food for thought. Obviously, the major concern is the slow start of Kai Havertz. But it does seem that his use of Thomas Partey is also leaving many baffled.
Partey has been deployed at right-back in the opening games of the campaign. It was a role he struggled with in that decisive game at Nottingham Forest late last season.
Hislop baffled by Partey role in Arsenal side
And the early signs suggest that that position really does not bring the best out of the 30-year-old. Arsenal obviously conceded the opening goal down their right flank. And his passing was poor, prompting Arteta to make a change during the second-half.
The Gunners have other options. Gabriel Magalhaes is yet to start this season. So it would seemingly be easy to bring the Brazilian in and push Ben White back out onto the right.
That would also allow Partey to move back into midfield, with Kai Havertz dropping out of the team. Right now, it feels as though that is the Arsenal team the fans need to see before they face Manchester United.
Certainly, Hislop cannot see what Arteta is trying to do with persisting with Partey at right-back.
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“I have no idea what he’s been asked to do, and I’m seeing the whole field at once,” he told ESPN. “I really don’t understand this. Is he in midfield? Is he playing as a defender? I really don’t understand it.”
It really does feel as though Arteta is just trying to be too clever with his team selections. Arsenal have the quality to beat any side in the Premier League. And yet, he appears to be over-complicating matters.
If anything, it appears to be confusing his own players.
Perhaps when it all clicks we will be made to look foolish. But it is currently hard to know whether this is an Arsenal side which is pacing itself, or one that is actually making an underwhelming start.