Mikel Arteta has demanded more from Arsenal’s midfield general Thomas Partey.
Partey’s Arsenal career so far has been blighted by injury and fitness issues, which have in turn hampered his progress at the Emirates.
The Ghana international has failed to live up to expectations ever since his arrival from Atletico in the summer of 2020, despite playing 10 of the north London club’s opening 14 Premier League games this season.
Speaking before the Gunners’ crucial match against Everton on Monday night, Arteta called on the 28-year-old to improve, while admitting that he hasn’t had the easiest of starts to his Premier League career.
‘He hasn’t found the platform physically to be at his best and then some games he has been more consistent than others,’ Arteta said.
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‘He can produce more and he knows that. We have to demand more from him.
‘He is an important player in the team and obviously we’ve missed him for long periods since he joined and that’s not ideal.
‘But our aim is just to get the best out of him and how we’re going to do that.’
Partey himself hasn’t been happy with his performances since arriving at Arsenal, and gave himself a low score when asked to assess his displays to date.
‘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,’ Partey told Sky Sports.
‘This is when you realise that you have to get better.
‘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.’
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‘From the defence to the attack, I can help the team a lot.
‘I have to read more of the game. Now I am having a lot of continuous games, it is normal that some games, or some moments in the games, I will be down.
‘With more games, with more confidence, I will be able to get to where I want to be.’
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