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Despite now being in charge of Arsenal Football Club for six seasons, manager Mikel Arteta has led the club to just one trophy, an FA Cup during his first season in 2019 (with a squad built by another manager). As a result, the soccer world seems to believe Arteta is pulling out all the stops to win another one, including making some morally dubious decisions.
In recent years, Ghanaian central midfielder Thomas Partey has faced multiple allegations of sexual assault, including incidents purportedly occurring in Spain, where he previously played for Atletico Madrid from 2013 to 2020. As such, the soccer world has begun to believe that Partey is actively avoiding going back to Spain to avoid potential criminal prosecution.
If that were true — again, this is all fan speculation and unconfirmed — that would mean Arteta is aiding him in his scheme, as he routinely tows the line of Partey being injured seemingly every time Arsenal has a match in Spain, including this week against defending Champions League winners Real Madrid (Note: while Partey played in a match in Girona earlier this year, that’s technically based in Catalonia, which is an autonomous region).
This weekend, for example, just days prior to Arsenal’s second-leg quarterfinal matchup against Madrid (Arsenal head into the match up 3-0), Arteta said that Partey was pulled from the Premier League game again Brentford after feeling “something” but did not specify what that something was.
The laughter of Mikel Arteta is truly troubling. It is a vile reaction & not something that should be handled in this fashion. Anyone who has followed things with Thomas Partey understands why.
Arteta’s continued support is a despicable, legacy affecting choice. https://t.co/zuyDgdIi0B
— Adam (@AdamJoseph____) April 13, 2025
Proper scumbag. pic.twitter.com/49kjhUGMwt
— Spurs Insider (@SpursInsider183) April 12, 2025
“Piece of s—. Hope he doesn’t win a thing,” added a soccer fan in a viral tweet about the video.
“The journalists all laughing knowing full well what he means, very f—— creepy,” added another post with over 2 million views on social media.
“Well this is grim. Laughing and joking because his midfielder is a mega r—– that’ll be arrested on the tarmac in Spain. F— Artera and f— Arsenal,” a third summarized.
Partey has been investigated for r— multiple times in both England and Spain. The Metropolitan Police arrested him in July 2022 on suspicion of r—, and he has since been interviewed by authorities multiple times, with the allegations steming from incidents between 2021 and 2023, with at least three women coming forward.
One of the allegations involves an incident in August 2021, where a woman claimed that Partey assaulted her while they were on holiday in Spain and has reportedly shared screenshots of conversations with Partey in which he appeared to acknowledge the encounter.