Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insists we will see how good Thomas Partey can be in the final stage of the campaign when he puts together an even match.
The Ghanaian midfielder arrived at the Emirates at the start of the season for 45 million pounds, but has since struggled to find form due to a series of niggling injuries. He has played 22 times for the Gunners and missed 16 games in total due to the injuries mentioned.
But the 27-year-old has started six of his team’s last seven matches in all competitions, and finished 90 minutes on three occasions. But with Arsenal still struggling in key areas of the field, fans have begun to question whether Partey was really worth the significant fee.
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But The Sun reports that Arteta has stood by her husband and urged him to prove how important he can be to the club.
“Hopefully we will see the best version of Thomas at Sheffield United on Sunday and against Slavia Prague next week,” said Arteta. “Now that he has a sequence of two or three games, I think we will see him end the season in a really strong way.
“It is very difficult to make a proper assessment of Thomas’ performance so far because he has missed six months and it is a long time. He still adapts to our way of playing, which is different from what he did at Atletico, but he we can all see what he brings to the team. “
Thomas Partey in Europa League action for Arsenal | Julian Finney / Getty Images
Partey must be in top form with his teammates next week. The Gunners face a tough Premier League test away to Sheffield United on Sunday night and a huge Europa League quarter-final second match with Slavia Prague on Thursday, with the overall result at 1-1.
And despite currently sitting seven points from Tottenham and Liverpool, Arteta insists that a European place and Europa League success is the goal for his side.
“The club we represent has high demands and the least we can ask is that everyone should work hard to deliver the goals that are expected of us.
“There are some really good examples of teams that were rebuilt and helped in the project by being outside Europe. But I would rather be in Europe every year and I still want to qualify through our league position and also win the Europa League.”
