Mikel Arteta Admits Tactical Tweak Has Unlocked Thomas Partey

Mikel Arteta confirms a shift to a new formation has benefited Thomas Partey…

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says Thomas Partey being awarded Arsenal’s Player of the Month for February is proof that the 28-year-old has finally settled in a new-look role for him, Goal reports.

Partey has struggled for consistency for most of his Gunners career, with a number of niggling injury problems constantly threatening his progression.

However, a slight tactical tweak in December in which Arteta started operating Granit Xhaka in an advanced midfield role, leaving Partey at the base of the midfield, seems to have done the Ghanian wonders.

Partey has seen his game go to another level and his performance against Manchester City on New Year’s Day marked his standing as one of the league’s dominant midfielders.

A brief stint at the African Cup of Nations hasn’t stemmed his momentum either, with the former Atletico Madrid man picking up where he left off.

“Yes, and it shows what he can do,” Arteta said when asked to comment on his Player of the Month award.

“And he should be with those contenders because the ability he has is up there with the best in the team. Now he needs to show consistently that he can do that.

“We are trying to adapt the game a little bit,” the manager explained.

“Some of the things we are doing is to try and adapt the game for him to be able to be more decisive, to create more space for him.

“I think he is taking things well.

“It is the work we do in training to try to facilitate to players to exploit their qualities as much as possible.”

Playing Partey as the lone holding midfielder was something that was part of the plan that saw us part with £45million to pay a release clause and bring him to north London.

It’s taken a while for Arteta to feel the team was ready to shift to this system, but we’re certainly starting to see the benefits of a solid 4-3-3 formation, illustrated by our four Premier League wins in a row.