I mean, Auba’s thing was also that it was a repeated pattern of lateness, especially as captain. I wouldn’t be surprised if Partey and his camp threatened to sue if while under contract Arsenal tried to freeze him out or suspend him or anything of the sort over the right to privacy, for the same reason that no outlet officially identified who it was. That being said, the fact that he was offered a contract extension makes it clear that either Arteta and crew genuinely believed he was innocent (somehow), or that there are no standards on issues like this.

Considering how even players and staff that left didn’t say anything, I’m leaning towards the former, but the club really needs to address and explain what they did know and why they did what they did.