Mikel Arteta impressed by Arsenal's substitute vs Everton last night

By Shamanth Jayaram

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has hailed Thomas Partey’s performance off the bench against Everton at the Emirates last night.

The Spaniard named an unchanged lineup for the game yesterday. That meant Jorginho kept his place in the side even though Partey was fit and available.

The Italian, however, was taken off at half-time, and Partey came on. He was simply sensational.

Mikel Arteta impressed by Arsenal’s Thomas Partey vs Everton

Arsenal were desperate for a new midfielder in January to provide cover for Partey when required. Jorginho was the chosen one in the end.

Gunners supporters were divided after Arteta and Edu brought the Italian in, but after his first few performances in an Arsenal shirt, everyone became a fan.

However, Arsenal’s first-choice number six is Partey, and the Ghanaian reminded everyone why he’s one of the best in the world in that position last night.

Everton just could not get near him. He dominated the midfield all on his own, and after what was a difficult first half for the Gunners, Partey made it light work after the break.

Arteta was really impressed with him.

He said in his press conference after the game, as quoted by Arsenal.com: “I think the team grew, especially with Thomas because Jorginho wasn’t feeling good today.

“When he came on he really gave us some presence and stability to the team and I think the second half was superb.”

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Arsenal have lost just three games in the Premier League this season – two of those were when Partey was unavailable due to injury.

That should tell you just how important the Ghanaian is to this Gunners’ side.

Partey has been the lone-defensive midfielder for Arsenal whenever he has played this season. His presence in front of the back four allows the likes of Granit Xhaka and Oleksandr Zinchenko to venture forward and have an impact in the opposition third. That makes Arteta’s side extremely dangerous.

There’s still a long way to go in the Premier League this season, but if Partey plays every game from now until the end of the campaign, Arsenal should be able to get over the line.