Mikel Arteta says he is “100%” comfortable with the way Arsenal handled the case of Thomas Partey, who played for the club for more than three years while under police investigation for alleged rape. Partey, who left Arsenal upon the expiry of his contract on 30 June, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault on 4 July.
The midfielder has denied the allegations, which relate to three women who reported incidents between 2021 and 2022. Detectives started an investigation in February 2022 after police first received a report of rape. Partey is due to appear at Westminster magistrates court on 5 August. His lawyer, Jenny Wiltshire, has said he “welcomes the opportunity to finally clear his name”.
Arsenal are in Singapore for the first part of their pre-season tour and Arteta was asked about the situation regarding Partey. The club have so far declined to comment in detail. On the day the charges were announced, they released a statement which noted Partey’s contract with them had ended and that, due to “ongoing legal proceedings”, they were “unable to comment on the case”.
Speaking publicly about the matter for the first time, Arteta said on Monday: “I think the club was very clear in its statement. There are a lot of legal matters that are very complicated so I cannot comment on any of that.”
It was then put to him: “A lot of fans have questions over the way in which the matter was handled by the club. Do you feel confident and comfortable that the club followed all the right processes in that?”
Arteta answered: “100%, yes.”
Partey made 52 appearances for Arsenal last season. He joined the club in 2020 from Atlético Madrid.
