
Arteta backs Arsenal's handling of Partey departure
Arsenal did not offer the 32-year-old a new contract at the end of last season and days later he was charged by British police with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault between 2021 and 2022.
Partey is due to appear before magistrates in London on August 5.
In a statement released on July 4, the day Partey was arrested, Arsenal said: "The player's contract ended on June 30. Due to ongoing legal proceedings the club is unable to comment on the case."
Arteta was asked during Arsenal's pre-season tour of Singapore whether the allegations against Partey were the deciding factor in him being released.
The Spaniard said he was "100 per cent" convinced that Arsenal had followed the correct procedure, adding: "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."
Partey joined Arsenal for £45 million from Atletico Madrid in October 2020.
He appeared 35 times in the Premier League last season, scoring four goals, and 12 times in the Champions League. - AFP
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Soccer-England forward Rashford joins Barcelona on loan from Man United
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Everton - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - December 1, 2024 Manchester United's Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring their third goal REUTERS/Molly Darlington/File Photo (Reuters) -England forward Marcus Rashford has joined Barcelona on a 12-month loan deal from Manchester United with an option to buy, the LaLiga club said on Wednesday. Media reports said that Barcelona would cover Rashford's wages this season after the player accepted a pay cut, with the option to buy set at around 30 million euros ($35.25 million). The move came after Manchester-born Rashford, who made 426 senior appearances and scored 138 goals for United in all competitions, fell out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, who called the 27-year-old's workrate into question. Rashford, who won two FA Cups, two League Cups and a Europa League title with United, joined Aston Villa on loan in February after Amorim said he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all. The forward, who has scored 17 goals for England in 62 appearances, said he was feeling fitter and better after joining Villa, where he netted two goals in 10 league games, while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings. LaLiga champions Barcelona are set to play three pre-season friendlies in Japan and South Korea starting on July 27. ($1 = 0.8511 euros) (Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)


The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
UK police on alert for immigration protests near London this weekend
Police patrol during an anti-immigration protest, in London, Britain, October 26, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J Ratcliffe LONDON (Reuters) -British police will have hundreds of officers on duty this weekend to deal with protests linked to immigration, a regional police chief said on Wednesday, amid worries over possible rioting. Ben-Julian Harrington said he was aware demonstrations were being advertised for Saturday and Sunday in Epping, in the county of Essex to London's northeast, after protests over the last week which resulted in violent disorder offences. "We'll have a robust policing operation. Essex is safe. You will have hundreds of officers on duty," Harrington, the Essex chief constable, told a press conference. The protests occurred outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 20 miles north of London, that has been used to house asylum seekers. Five men have been charged with incidents of violent disorder in recent days, after police made 10 arrests following damage to vehicles and protesters throwing projectiles that injured eight officers. The police alert follows nationwide rioting last summer when racist unrest involving far-right supporters broke out after false reports on social media that a suspect in the murder of three girls was a radical Islamist migrant. The anniversary of those murders in Southport is July 29. Essex Police's focus is on protecting communities while allowing peaceful protest to take place, Harrington said. The Epping hotel has become the focal point for some anti-immigration protesters and pro-immigration groups after an Ethiopian asylum seeker living there was charged with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. He denies the charges, according to a BBC report. The man had arrived in Britain by boat from northern Europe eight days before the alleged incident on July 7, the BBC said, adding he had been remanded in custody. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to stop thousands of migrants arriving in Britain via small boats, but is struggling to do so. Official data published earlier this month showed nearly 20,000 asylum seekers arrived on small boats in the first six months of the year, marking a record high for the period. (Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Mark Heinrich)


Malaysian Reserve
7 hours ago
- Malaysian Reserve
HK arrests 18-year-old for writing ‘seditious words' in bathroom
HONG KONG police arrested an 18-year-old on suspicion he left what they called 'seditious' messages in a bathroom, adding to a recent series of national security actions that signal authorities' continued efforts to curb dissent. The man is accused of being 'involved in writing seditious words in a commercial building toilet on three separate occasions,' the government said Wednesday. The content allegedly provoked hatred and disaffection against the government and incited others to defy the law. The move is the latest in a flurry of enforcement actions against perceived threats to the Chinese state in the former British colony. Hong Kong is seeking to burnish its status as a finance hub after its image took a hit from strict pandemic controls and clampdown on political freedoms. Earlier this month police arrested four men for allegedly advocating independence for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. In June, local authorities took their first known joint operation with Beijing's security officers to investigate a case of alleged foreign collusion. Police also banned a Taiwanese video game that month for allegedly calling for armed revolution. In its Wednesday statement, the National Security Department of the police charged the man for carrying out 'with a seditious intention an act or acts that had a seditious intention,' a crime that's punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment on first conviction. The offense is defined in the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, commonly known as Article 23, which was fast-tracked into domestic law last year. It's been invoked in addition to the Beijing-imposed National Security Law of 2020, which authorities used to detain and imprison dozens of leading democracy activists. The Hong Kong government didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. –BLOOMBERG