The Gunners shared the spoils against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium yesterday and it was a good result, considering the large number of defensive absentees.
William Saliba was suspended while Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu were injured. Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber were taken off with knocks.
Arsenal ended the game with a completely unfamiliar back four of Thomas Partey, Ben White, Jakub Kiwior and Myles Lewis-Skelly. A 2-2 draw was not a bad result.
Bukayo Saka was the man of the match after a goal on his return from injury, but Partey had an equally good game with 13 duels and four tackles won over 90 minutes.
Deeney has picked Partey over the Gunners captain in his Team of the Week. He said that the 31-year-old has rarely let the team down when asked to play at right-back.
He told BBC Sport: “He is the guy who is probably one of the Arsenal players they are looking to move on from in the summer, but he steps in and every time they ask him to play right-back he does a good job, doesn’t let the team down. He is the type of person you’d be really grateful for in your team.”
Partey had mixed fortunes from the right-back position last term, but he has fared much better this campaign. He was brilliant defensively in the 3-1 win over Southampton earlier this month.
The midfielder had a tougher assignment against an in-form Luis Diaz yesterday, but he came on top in the contest. Barring one moment, Diaz struggled to gain advantage over the Gunners ace.
Partey was widely tipped to leave the Gunners last summer, but has responded well. He is one of the undisputed starters and has become better with his performances, having stayed injury free.
The big question remains whether he can continue to stay unscathed over the entire campaign. This would improve his chances of extending his contract expiring in the summer of 2025.
