Mikel Arteta has been praising Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey after his recent upturn in form.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game against Leicester City, the Arsenal boss was asked whether Partey beating Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka to the Gunners’ February Player of the Month award was an indicator of the level the African is now producing, to which Arteta said: “Yes, and it shows what he can do.
“And he should be with those contenders because the ability he has is up there with the best in the team. Now he needs to show consistently that he can do that.”
Arteta then spoke about how Arsenal’s change from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 with Partey as the deepest sitting midfielder has helped his game out a great deal:
“We are trying to adapt the game a little bit,” Arteta said.
“Some of the things we are doing is to try and adapt the game for him to be able to be more decisive, to create more space for him.
Arsenal vs Leicester City
Arteta will be hoping Partey’s superb form continues on Sunday when the north Londoners take on Arsenal.
Arsenal head into their meeting with Leicester City on a fine run of form that has seen them climb up to 4th in the Premier League table.
The Gunners are on 48 points ahead of the weekend’s action, with Manchester United, West Ham and Tottenham all within three points of Arteta’s men.
However, Arsenal do have at least two games in hand on all three of those sides. But with some tough games coming up, Arsenal’s advantage over their top-four rivals could easily disappear into nothing over the coming weeks, which is why it is imperative they see off Leicester this weekend.
The Foxes have looked a more solid outfit in recent weeks, but Brendan Rodgers’ side are still only 12th in the PL.
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