By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
Midfielder Thomas Partey on Thursday October 22, 2020, at far away Austria, proved a quality addition to the Mikel Arteta-led Arsenal squad.
At the Rapid Vienna, in the Europa League action with Arsenal, the Ghanaian, aided his club, which did not have a lot of massive individual performances, to come from behind to a 2-1 victory.
He held the midfield for the Arteta’s men in a 90-minute show.
Partey had 102 touches, passed at 90 percent, and completed 4-of-5 long passes, while winning 10-of-13 duels and making five tackles, according to NBCSports report.
On Partey’s performance, Arteta said: “He looked really solid, really comfortable.
“He held midfield by himself in the second half, when we were a little bit more open and starting to take more chances attacking certain places with some players. … He was fantastic tonight and there’s much more to come from him.
“He needs his team-mates around him.
“It’s not about him. We know that with the price we paid for him and the profile of the player that he is that he is going to have a lot of people looking at him every single game. This is about the structure we have as a team, the flow, the unity and the cohesion that we need in our team. He’s one piece of that. Hopefully he’s a big piece.”
One thing Arsenal fans are going to love about Partey, the $59 million, acquisition from Aletico Madrid, is how he chews up minutes.
He played more than 3300 minutes for Atletico last season and he played 46, 42, and 50 matches in his last three seasons.
And Arteta’s going to need him, too, even as he tamps down expectations for the 27-year-old.
Arsenal continues a huge run of fixtures with a visit from Leicester City on Sunday before Dundalk hits the Emirates on Thursday ahead of a trip to Manchester United.