Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was full of praise for summer signing Thomas Partey after he produced a man-of-the-match display on his first start for the club, as reported by Sky Sports.
The Ghanaian midfielder completed his £40m move from Atletico Madrid to north London on deadline day earlier this month. However, he was only named on the bench for last weekend’s defeat to Manchester City.
Handed his first start on Thursday night, Partey caught the eye straight away.
Despite falling behind, Arsenal scored twice in four second-half minutes to beat Rapid Vienna 2-1. David Luiz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang found the target to hand the Gunners all three points.
Yet it was Partey who was the stand-out performer in the Austrian capital.
Partey makes immediate impact
Speaking after the game, Arteta was keen to point out the immediate impact the 27-year-old made.
“I think he held the midfield by himself in the second half when we were a little bit more open and took more chances.
“I think he was fantastic tonight and there is much more to come from him obviously,” Arteta said.
Arteta wasn’t the only one impressed by Partey’s contribution. BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves also hailed Arsenal’s latest recruit.
The former Manchester United player labelled Partey’s performance “one of the best debuts I have ever seen”.
Partey is likely to be pushing for a first Premier League start this weekend against Leicester City.
The holding midfielder appears ready to make his mark in England as Arsenal look to bounce back from consecutive away defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City.
Those losses mean Arsenal are outside the top four. A win on Sunday would change that, though, and see Arteta’s men leapfrog Brendan Rodgers’ side in the table.
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