Mikel Arteta is ecstatic after completing the signing of Thomas Partey this summer.
Arsenal splashed out £45m to sign him on transfer deadline day, making him the club’s fourth-most expensive player ever.
Fans never expected this deal to be completed given how long the Gunners dallied on a proper move. Arteta of course is pleased to have more quality in his midfield and explained just how it might impact his tactics going forward.
“We identified him a few months ago and we have been following his progress, and obviously the more you know about the squad, you know more about where you think you can improve it,” the Spaniard said.
“We believe he has the right qualities, with his character and his personality and as well with his technical qualities and positional options that he can give to the team.
“I think he allows us to play different formations and he can fit in within those formations in different positions, which is a really good thing to have in a squad where, in midfield, I think we were a little bit short.
“I have a few things in mind that I want to start to train with the team and [Partey’s signing] is going to give us a little bit more adaptability and more balance in defending and attacking transitions and the way we have to set up certain structures to attack better in certain moments of the game.”
Arsenal are tipped to go back to a back-four now that Partey is in the squad. Mikel Arteta can finally opt for a midfield trio with several options in hand.
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