Arsenal: 5 players impacted by Thomas Partey move

4. Hector Bellerin

One of the most noticeable tenets of Arteta’s approach at Arsenal thus far has been the use of his full-backs. The left side has featured as an extremely advanced role, almost acting as a left-winger with the left-side attacker of the front three drifting into the half-space to create space in the wide channel. Bukayo Saka has flourished in this role.

On the right flank, Arteta has supplemented this offensive positioning with an inverted role. The right-back tucks inside to offer protection against the counter-attack and a further option to play out from the back. This also allows the left-sided central midfielder to slide into a pseudo-left-back space, providing yet more cover for the offensive position of the left-back.

However, with Partey in tow and a more stable midfield as a result, Arteta might revert to a more balanced approach to his full-backs, providing a greater license to the right-back to make overlapping runs forward like on the left side. That would help Hector Bellerin no end. The Spaniard is at his best when he uses his speed to bound up and down the flank. At present, Arteta is restricting his movement. Perhaps, then, Partey’s arrival frees up Bellerin to push forward more.