Thomas Partey has admitted that he still has a long way to go to hit top form for Arsenal this season after rating his own performances at 4/10.
The 28-year-old Ghana international has been a regular fixture in the Arsenal team this season and has featured in 11 of their 15 games in the Premier League so far this term.
Partey has scored one goal in 11 Premier League games this term but his performances have not been as consistent as he would have liked.
The midfielder has been getting used to life at The Emirates after having signed for the Gunners from Atletico Madrid in a big-money deal last October.
His first season – in which he started 18 league games – was hampered by injury and fitness issues but he is now hoping to push on and step his game up as he bids to help Arsenal finish in the top four.
However, he openly admits that he has not been performing at his best for the north London side lately.
Speaking before Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Everton on Monday night, Partey told Sky Sports: “I give myself four [out of 10], because there are moments I can really hurt the other team but there are also moments where I allow myself to lose focus and that’s when everything goes down.
“This is when you realise that you have to get better.”
He continued: “From the start [of the Manchester United game] I had a couple of moments where I gave two balls away and someone watching on TV from home or in the stadium, it is normal that they see this.
“At the end, I have to be happy with some moments, I have to learn from the bad parts and try to do better. I think they demanded more and personally I know I can give more. I have to keep working and at the end I will get the results.”
Partey played the full 90 minutes as Arsenal slumped to back-to-back Premier League defeats with their loss at Goodison Park.
Arsenal struggled to gain a foothold in the game despite dominating possession on Merseyside and Mikel Arteta could not hide his disappointment at the manner of the defeat.
“I’m very disappointed,” Arteta told Arsenal Media. “I think in the first half we were inconsistent with the ball and we had some moments of control, we didn’t concede anything apart from the goal that was disallowed by the set-piece, but we didn’t have enough penetration or threat on the opponents’ goal.”
The Gunners will host Southampton in the Premier League as they bid to get back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon.