Arsenal: 3 standout individual performances vs Wolves

2. Thomas Partey

Few players in the squad have faced the difficulties Thomas Partey has. They have already been discussed extensively, but in short, fans have wanted to see more from him. On Thursday night against Wolves, he delivered.

Partey has thrived in his new role as a single pivot. His technical ability and physicality allows him to control the entire midfield and balance the way Arsenal build-up without any left-sided bias.

He glides past opposition midfielders with tight turns and smooth body feints, escaping pressure with aesthetic ease. His passing is also neatly suited to Arsenal’s midfield as he moves the ball around with a lovely level of zip and purpose, sliding in dangerous attackers and letting them go to work against defenders.

The simplicity in his play is often underrated. All the small details, and some of the less glamorous elements, he excels at. Partey knows his job is to receive the ball and move it on with as few touches as possible and he does so extremely well.

The only thing missing from his game is a shot that doesn’t blast into the stratosphere. But if he runs the midfield like he did against Wolves, he can keep shooting all he wants.

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