Ian Wright: What I think about Thomas Partey’s impact at Arsenal
Ian Wright talks up Thomas Partey's impact since having signed for Arsenal from Atletico Madrid
Ian Wright has lavished praise on Thomas Partey following his impressive performances for Arsenal in recent games.
The Ghana international has been settling into life at The Emirates after having signed for the north London club from Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window.
Partey’s progress at Arsenal was hampered by a recent injury setback but he is now fit and ready to feature for the Gunners.
The 27-year-old played 78 minutes of Arsenal’s 3-1 victory over Southampton in the Premier League on Tuesday night as he helped the Gunners to make it three away wins in a row in the top flight.
Arsenal legend Wright has been highly impressed by what he has seen from the Ghanaian midfielder since his switch to the Premier League club.
Speaking in an interview quoted by Metro, Wright said of Partey: “He’s a game-changer simply because of the way he plays in midfield. He’s somebody who does not pass the ball sideways.
“He wants to pass it forwards and that gets everybody forwards. If you’ve got people like Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka in the area where they can pick up the ball and go forwards, run with it and progress it then all of a sudden you’ve got their defenders going backwards.
“You’ve got people starting to make runs and you are starting to create which we weren’t doing a few weeks back.”
Arsenal will now turn their attentions back towards Premier League affairs and preparing for their crunch clash against Manchester United at The Emirates on Saturday evening.
The north London side have won four of their last five games in the top flight.
