Thomas Partey will welcome the end of a turbulent debut season at the Emirates Stadium.

The Black Stars midfielder sealed a big-money move from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid last summer and was tipped to take the Premier league by storm.

However, his progress was hampered by multiple injuries. Partey missed a combine total of 17 games with hip, muscle and hamstring injuries and never got to full fitness until halfway through the season.

No one doubts Partey’s obvious quality, but his output; three assists and zero goals in 33 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions has naturally raised a few eye brows.

Nevertheless, the Ghanaian international showed glimpses of the talent that saw the North London club cough up £45M for his services.

But while Atletico Madrid edged Real Madrid and Barcelona to win La Liga last weekend, Arsenal failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 25 years after finishing 8th in the English Premier League.

Leaving him at the mercy of trolls on social media for a perceived “poor decision”.

A rather unfair and premature conclusion for a player who has been in England for just a season.

If truth be told, arriving at a club in transition was naturally going to bring its own challenges, especially with an inexperienced manager in Mikel Arteta at the helm.

But at 27 years old, Partey is just entering his prime and is almost a sure bet to be a key cog for both club and country for many years.

Next season presents him with another opportunity to show that he can fulfill such demanding duties in the cut-throat environment of England’s top flight.

Partey is more than capable as he has already shown over the years but one man alone does not win laurels.

Much of Arsenal’s collective success in the 2021/22 campaign will depend entirely on how well they plan their squad in the off-season.