Arteta hints at how his Arsenal team will start playing after Partey’s arrival

Arsenal surprised everyone in the footballing world after it paid the release clause of Thomas Partey to sign him from Atletico Madrid and gooners have since then been curious to know how Mikel Arteta will integrate him into the squad. Mikel Arteta has hint at how his team will now start playing after the arrival of the 27 year old.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was very clear in his message even when he had just arrived as he said that the club needed to invest to start competing with the rest of the top clubs in the Premier League and they have now backed him in the summer transfer window with a great number of new signings with Thomas Partey being the most influential of the new players.

Arsenal have mostly been defensive in their set up last season and the start of this season as they have used the 3-4-3 formation which is usually used when you want to counter attack instead of dominating in the game. The gunners have sometimes been criticized for being too defensive in their approach this season but that could change as Arteta has hint at the change of approach in their playing after the arrival of Thomas Partey.

Arteta claims that Partey is a versatile player that will allow the gunners to use many formations and also hints that his arrival could see them now start being more progressive in attacking since his presence would make the structure that he wants to be at its best. Arteta says that Partey will give them more balance in defending and attacking transitions and he did say in the past that he wants his team to be playing free flowing attacking football with 55 shots and more and that he however had to first find a way to balance the squad.

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 29: Arsenal Head Coach Mikel Arteta during the FA Community Shield match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on August 29, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“I think he allows us to play different formations and he can fit in within those formations in different positions, which is a really good thing to have in a squad where, in midfield, I think we were a little bit short.”

“I have a few things in mind that I want to start to train with the team and [Partey’s signing] is going to give us a little bit more adaptability and more balance in defending and attacking transitions and the way we have to set up certain structures to attack better in certain moments of the game.”