Martin Keown says Arsenal’s Thomas Partey needs help in midfield

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Former Arsenal defender, Martin Keown, has suggested that the Gunners need to add further to their midfield to get the best from Thomas Partey.

The Gunners are set to land Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid, while they also signed Mat Ryan from Brighton to strengthen the goalkeeping ranks earlier today.

Manager Mikel Arteta is wheeling and dealing this month. He’s already allowed Ozil and Sokratis to leave, while others could be on their way out before the end of January.

However, speaking to Talksport today, former defender Keown suggested that Arsenal need to get the best from Thomas Partey by adding another player into the midfield alongside him.

“Partey is an exceptional talent. But he needs someone else alongside him,” Keown said.

“The centre-forward position is quite strong. There’s talk of another left-back coming in too. But is he going to have the money available? Lots to do for the manager.”

Arteta is clearly being backed by the Gunners board and Edu and after overcoming a difficult period earlier in the season, Arsenal are now picking up it seems.

TBR View: Keown is right, work to be done and Partey is a class act

Partey made an instant impact when he arrived so it was a shame to see him injured so soon into his Arsenal career. That coincided with the Gunners’ bad run so it’s nice to see him back and doing well.

But Keown has a point here. Arsenal could get even more out of him if they added another brilliant player into the midfield with him.

The likes of Ceballos and Xhaka have done ok at times, and so has Mo Elneny. But to get to the next level, the Gunners need someone with similar levels to that of Partey.