'Exploded': Journalist who sat behind Arsenal bench shares why Arteta lost his temper with Partey and Jesus

01/05/2025 05:15 AM

Mikel Arteta watched his Arsenal side throw away two precious points against Brighton on Saturday.

Liverpool now have a chance to move eight points ahead of the Gunners in the Premier League with victory over Manchester United on Sunday – and will still have a game in hand over Arsenal too regardless of the result.

Arsenalwere heading in the right direction after Ethan Nwaneri made it 1-0 at the Amex Stadium, but a controversial penalty won by Joao Pedro, dispatched by the Brazilian, resulted in a 1-1 draw.

The north Londoners failed to create many opportunities – registering three shots on target to Brighton’s four – and Mikel Arteta was particularly disappointed with two players on the south coast.

Mikel Arteta spotted lashing out at Gabriel Jesus and Thomas Partey

Ryan Taylor – a journalist for the Mirror – was sat behind the Spaniard inside the Amex Stadium on Saturday, and claims the man from Donostia lost his temper with both Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus.

He wrote on X (previously known as Twitter): “Sat behind Mikel Arteta and he was absolutely furious throughout entirety of the second half. Exploded at Thomas Partey for selling Gabriel Martinelli short and at Gabriel Jesus for failing to press. Arsenal’s standards slipped second half, Brighton (subs helped) wanted it more.”

The Brazil international has enjoyed a resurgence in recent weeks, scoring three goals in his last three Premier League appearances before Saturday’s 1-1 draw, but he was very ineffective against Brighton.

Jesus recorded just one shot – which was off target – running offside on two occasions while also losing possession seven times. His 6.4 rating on SofaScore was the lowest of any Arsenal player.

In regards to Partey, the Ghana international looked sluggish at right-back and lacked imagination with his passes.

As Taylor stated, the Arsenal No.5 sold Martinelli short with a sloppy pass which killed a promising attack, while he also lost possession on 12 occasions – often overhitting straightforward balls down the line.

Thomas Partey could soon leave Arsenal

Jesus has time on his side with a contract running until June 2027 – but Partey is playing for his future.

The 31-year-old becomes a free agent this summer as things stand, and if he continues to frustrate Arteta, we doubt an extension will be offered.

Reports even suggest Barcelona have made Partey a priority this summer – so we could well see the Ghanaian leave the Emirates Stadium soon.