What will Thomas bring to the Partey?
What will Arsenal's new midfielder bring to the Partey?
By Luke Baker
It’s almost time. After a long summer pursuing their target, Mikel Arteta will finally get to play with his new toy as Thomas Partey could be set to make his Gunners debut against Manchester City.
They say the thrill is in the chase, never in the capture, but Arteta would surely beg to differ. The chase has been frustrating but finally snagging and now unleashing Partey at the heart of his midfield will bring the Gunners boss plenty of joy, as his quotes upon signing the Atletico Madrid star show.
“We have been watching Thomas for a while, so we’re now delighted to add such a high-quality player to our squad,” said Arteta.
“He is a dynamic midfielder with great energy. He brings a lot of experience from a top club that has competed at the highest level in La Liga and the Champions League for several years.
“We’re very impressed with his attitude and his approach to the game. He’s an intelligent footballer and we’re looking forward to him integrating into our system and contributing to the progress we’re building at the moment at the club.”
With such a protracted transfer saga (up to two years long depending on when you want to start your timeline), it’s almost easy to forget what the Ghanaian midfielder is capable of on a football pitch, so we examine just what Thomas will bring to the Partey at the Emirates Stadium.
VERSATILITY
Although seemingly destined for a holding role in front of the Arsenal defence, whether at the heart of a 4-3-3 or alongside another central midfielder in a 3-4-3, Partey has already demonstrated an aptitude for a number of different positions in his career.
During loan spells at Almeria and Mallorca, he operated as a box-to-box midfielder, a winger or even occasionally a No.10, but Diego Simeone moulded him into a No.6 once back at Atletico Madrid.
The 27-year-old is lean but deceptively powerful, and strong in contact – allowing him to emerge with the ball more often than not from 50-50s.
In the Champions League last term, he averaged 1.5 interceptions and 3.6 tackles per game, demonstrating his ability to break up opposition attacks.
He’s also got a supreme football intelligence, reading the game instinctively and understanding space, while his passing is probably an underrated attribute.
Under Simeone’s rigid system at Atletico, his role has mostly been to complete shorter passes to more creative players but there’s a feeling that he can offer more if given the opportunity.
A GOAL THREAT?
Whether asked to play alongside, or instead of, Granit Xhaka, Partey should be able to shine – with a mobility that the Swiss anchor doesn’t really possess.
At club level, he’s not renowned as a goalscorer, although he did notch three goals in 35 La Liga games last season, but has a cannon of a right foot when required from long-range.
For Ghana, he has sometimes moved forward as second striker, which has contributed to his impressive record of ten goals in 30 games at international level.
His dribble success rate for Atletico last season was bettered by only a handful of other La Liga players and although his first duty for the Gunners will be as a defensive midfielder, there is plenty to suggest he can also pose a threat in attack.
It might have taken two years and £45 million but Arsenal have a key cog in the Arteta machine and it’s time to get the Partey started.
