After months of close watch, Arsenal finally officially completed the Thomas Partey contract on the last day of the summer transfer window.
The Gunners rookie began his career in his hometown of Ghana, where he went through youthful levels at the Odometah FC football team before moving to Atletico Madrid in 2011. Partey quickly adapted to a new life in the capital. Spain and made regular appearances for Atletico’s B team before he impressed when he was on loan at Mallorca in the 2013/14 season and then Almeria the following season.
Since that time, Partey became stronger and more complete, and that gradually gave him a place in the ranks of Europe’s top midfielders. The Ghanaian has made a total of 188 appearances for Atletico in all competitions and has attracted the attention of many major teams after his impressive seasons in Spain.
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Defense ability
Speaking of regaining the ball in his opponent’s feet, Partey is an expert. Wise gameplay, combined with his physical background and ability to read the game, makes the Ghanaian midfielder a difficult obstacle for any opponent who intends to overcome him.
The skill of positioning is a strong point of the 27-year-old as he always knows when to move to block the direction of passing the ball and prevent the opponent’s cross-line, which Arsenal lacks. In the 2019/20 season, he successfully completed a total of 28 interceptions in the Atletico shirt, just behind the other seven in La Liga.
Partey also stood out in his tackling ability with an average of 3.6 successful tackles per match in the Champions League last season and was seventh in the entire league at this point.
The height of 185 cm helps the Ghanaian player to regularly win in hand-to-hand matches, both in the air and in low-level disputes. The combination of ideal stature and decisive fighting attitude makes Partey look like a second ball recovery machine in the midfield. The parameters also prove this, when only 10 players in La Liga last season performed more than 384 recoveries of Partey’s ball. To get those achievements, he must have trained so hard. So, here we recommend some of the best sport equipment
Skills with the ball
Not only defensive skills, Arsenal fans can expect more from their rookie. Despite possessing a massive body, Partey is bestowed with excellent ball dribbling abilities.
The 27-year-old has a clear mindset about the development of the ball, Atletico fans will surely never forget the image of the midfielder wearing the number 5 shirt with the ball in his foot, which coach Arteta will look forward to. Wait for him to be able to reproduce in Arsenal colors to help the Gunners have more options in the transition phase.
Last season in La Liga, the former Atletico player performed an average of 1.6 successful dribbles per game and ranked 29th in the entire league in this category, an impressive feat given that most of the time in the season. The tournament he played in the standing midfield position.
In addition, Partey also proved extremely sharp in the deployment of the ball. He can receive the ball under pressure and send the ball either upwards or through the opponent’s defense with great precision.
The 27-year-old often signaled to ask for the ball from his teammates because he wanted to contribute to the game as much as possible. He performs an average of 62 passes per game for Atletico in the 2019/20 Champions League arena, a very respectable number in the defensive system built by Diego Simeone.
Partey not only gave the ball to the ball, but he was always conscious of bringing the ball up and trying to bring the ball to his teammates’ feet in a favorable position. Arsenal’s rookie gave himself 71 development passes and 65 passes to the final half of the Champions League last season, the sixth and seventh highest among the remaining players, respectively. Tournaments. Improving communication skills is also a must for all players.
Role in the squad
Any coach wants to have a midfielder like Partey in hand because he is able to play very well in both the tower midfield and the shuttle midfielder, which will help Arteta to use. he is extremely flexible in his tactical system.
The Ghanaian midfielder can easily take up one of two positions in the central midfield duo with Granit Xhaka or Dani Ceballos, because this is the position he is familiar with in the Atletico shirt.
The 27-year-old also possesses ball playing skills as well as thinking suitable for the role of a free ball reclaimer or a shuttle midfielder in three-man midfield.
If the Arsenal manager intends to switch to a four-defender plan, Partey is the perfect addition to fill the right-hand position in the three-man midfield because he has experience in the game. the position of a defender must be reluctant before.
During the deployment phase of the ball, the former Atletico player can be put on the cover, allowing Hector Bellerin to comfortably rise and contribute more to the attacking front, the same way that Granit Xhaka is used on the left flank. .
Partey is also completely comfortable in the role of a lone 6, where he can receive the ball from the edge of the box and send it to the bottom half with his passes or dribbling abilities.
Only 15 players in La Liga performed more passes under pressure than Partey last season (298). Composure in the face of pressure is exactly what Arteta needs in his players because of the style the strategist builds upon deploying the ball right from home.
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For the opponents that fall deeply, Partey will be the shield for the defense, then it is possible that Ceballos will be pushed up to play higher and regularly receive the ball in the inner corridor area. Partey’s physical foundation and ability to keep the ball skillful will be a formidable weapon against high-level opponents, making Arsenal more stable during the transition and helping the Gunners in control. better than the midfield area.
The Ghana vice captain has once proven his quality against the top Premier League teams. Last season he had two classy performances at home and away against rivals Liverpool in the Champions League and won the title of Player of the Match in the first leg. Partey showed off his best defensive skills that evening: winning 11 disputes, hitting five tackles and recovering the ball 12 times.
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One of his former teammates, Kieran Trippier, fully believes Partey has everything he needs to shine in England. “It’s an extraordinary player, look at the physicality and the way he crushes the opponent. He has everything on hand. It is definitely one of the best midfielders I have had the chance to play with, ”commented the England defender. “He can also speak English very well. I don’t think he will have any problems integrating with the Premier League. ”
