THOMAS PARTEY has opened up on the ‘amazing’ Mikel Arteta tactic that is helping him thrive at Arsenal.
The Ghanaian was the Gunners’ summer marquee signing after his £45million switch from Atletico Madrid.
Thomas Partey receives instruction from ‘amazing’ Mikel ArtetaCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Arsenal struggled in his absence, languishing in the lower reaches of the table for much of the first half of the season.
But despite their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend, things have improved in the last couple of months – with Partey at the heart of it.
On working for Arteta, Partey, 27, told Stadium Astro: “Mikel is helping me a lot. At Atletico, I played in a similar position.
“The system is not the same back there, you have to be well positioned to be able to go around your marker, and here Mikel is helping a lot because I remember.
“You don’t have to be in the same line and opposite the defender.
“You have time to be able to do whatever you want and this is amazing.
“It’s just as important, you need to keep it in mind and whenever your teammates have the ball, you know who you are in line with, who you are not in line with and this is helping me a lot.”
Atletico manager Diego Simeone is respected as one of the most successful coaches currently working in the game.
The Ghanaian has added a new presence at the heart of midfieldCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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And Partey sees similarities between his old and current bosses.
He continued: “I think both of them have the same mentality, which is winning.
“Both of them want to be in control, you always have the chance to create in behind and the difference is we don’t give chances, we press high.
“We always do a high press, from the first minute to the last minute, and in Atletico sometimes you have to wait for the opposition to move around you and you hit them on the counter.”
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Arteta claims Arsenal are not ruthless enough after their loss to Villa
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
