Atletico Madrid star Saul Niguez has hailed Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey as ‘incredible’ and claimed he can become ‘one of the best in the world’.
The Ghanaian joined the Gunners in the summer transfer window for a fee of £45m, however, has enjoyed a stop-start season in north London.
Speaking at a LiveScore event (as per The Metro), the La Liga man heaped praise on his former teammate amid his claims over how far he can go in the game.
Niguez said: “I think having a coach like Mikel Arteta at Arsenal eased things a lot for him. He knows the language and it is a culture that suits him. As a player he’s incredible and if he manages to keep this consistency, he can be one of the best in the world honestly. I have known him since we were 16 or 17 years old and I’ve always felt that he was going to be a very important player, but what he has lacked is the consistency, because he’s capable of doing everything.”
Despite all of his issues this season, the 27-year-old’s quality has shone through during periods of a struggling campaign for the north London outfit.
Mikel Arteta’s men have endured what can only be described as a torrid season with the club sitting in ninth place in the Premier League.
His ability to carry the ball through the thirds of the pitch has added a new dimension to the side’s play and was extremely evident during the win over Manchester United back in November. Partey was named man of the match for the encounter, completing four times more dribbles than the next nearest teammate.
And whilst, some parts of the first-team have struggled for consistency, the defensive wall has been a tower of strength in of the park especially at the back. No Arsenal player has completed more tackles per game in the top-flight than the African, who averages 1.8.
With the business end of the season upon the club, Partey’s presence in the team will add more solidity and quality moving forward in the Europa League. However, given how stop-start his time has been thus far, you feel like there’s more to come from the stalwart.
In other news, one former Arsenal celebrated three years over a monumental decision.
