David Seaman raves about Thomas Partey, he could be on Arsenal’s bench tonight

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Arsenal legend David Seaman has hailed midfielder Thomas Partey as one of Mikel Arteta’s most important players.

Seaman was speaking to TalkSPORT ahead of the Gunners’ Premier League match against Everton.

It’s an opportunity for Arsenal to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points.

Mikel Arteta’s side have held this game in hand for some time, the potential almost being more important than the points.

Should Arsenal come away with anything but a win, Manchester City will once again be reinvigorated at the prospect of catching the Gunners.

Arteta has made a point this season of only changing his team when absolutely necessary.

The likes of Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Fabio Vieira have barely started a match in the league.

An injury to Gabriel Jesus has forced the Spaniard to shuffle his pack in attacking areas in recent games.

However, as Seaman points out, the importance of Thomas Partey to his Arsenal side cannot be underestimated.

Thankfully, January arrival Jorginho has done an excellent job deputising for him in recent games.

It now looks more than likely that he’ll get the nod ahead of the Ghanaian again tonight.

Seaman emphasises importance of Partey to Arsenal

The iconic Arsenal goalkeeper was asked on TalkSPORT about the impact of Partey’s recent absence.

“We’ve seen this season that when he’s had a lot of games one after another, he’s played really well, and he’s a really important part of that team,” Seaman said.

“Jorginho’s come in and [Granit] Xhaka’s now performing in a different role, where he’s a little bit further forward, but he can also drop into that if Partey gets injured.

“With Partey, he’s a really important player.”

Partey’s injury record since arriving at The Emirates is concerning, having missed 37 games already since signing from Atletico Madrid.

He’s fared much better this season, featuring in three-quarters of Arsenal league matches.

After a tricky debut against tonight’s opponents, Jorginho has stepped up brilliantly in Partey’s place.

He’s likely to start again tonight, and Arteta has praised him for his impact since his arrival.

Seaman will echo the thoughts of many Arsenal fans when he says he wants to see Partey back in the team soon.

It can only be a good thing for the Gunners if Jorginho is playing well enough to allow the 29-year-old to fully recover before being thrown into the action.