'It did not happen as planned.'
Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has penned a lengthy apology on his Instagram page after getting sent off in Arsenal's EFL Cup defeat to Liverpool.
Player apologies after disappointing performances, particularly penalty misses or red cards, are becoming par for the course in the world of social media and football. This season, we have mostly seen Manchester United players pledging to work harder to bounce back from another disappointing defeat.
But Partey has matched the levels of Bruno Fernandes - off the pitch if not on it - with a long, grovelling note to Arsenal fans after putting the team in a difficult spot, with Granit Xhaka already serving a suspension for a red card in the first leg.
After his native Ghana were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday night, Partey was straight back in the Arsenal squad for the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool, with the score level after a goalless first leg at Anfield.
Diogo Jota bagged a brace to send Liverpool to the final, and Arsenal's misery was compounded in the final minutes of the game as substitute Partey picked up two yellow cards in three minutes less than 15 minutes after coming off the bench.
There was no arguing with the decisive foul, as the midfielder arrived late on Fabinho, landing his studs on the Brazilian's ankle.
On Friday morning, Partey released the following statement on his Instagram story:
"Am (sic) responsible for anything that happened and will take all the critiques, I should be more intelligent not to get in a challenge already booked but this is my personality I like to fight for every ball.
"I love this club and I love my country. Even though things sometimes don't happen how I wanted, I would (sic) continue to work harder and make things right.
"I came back with the mentality to make myself available for team to get to the final but it did not happen as planned."
"I will continue to give my all when am (sic) on the field of play because this is my life and this is what I chose to do," he continued.
"Am (sic) not happy with all that happened yesterday and at the AFCON but I understand only with hard work things will change so I will continue to work hard to change this.
"Thanks."
