Ghana’s Thomas Partey made his Arsenal debut with a 7-minute cameo appearance in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Gunners were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City thanks to Raheem Sterling’s first-half goal at the Etihad.
Partey started the game on the bench having had very little training time with his new teammates due to the international break.
The Black Stars deputy captain completed a late £45m switch from Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day but jetted off on international duty after signing. He played the full 90 minutes in two international friendlies for Ghana.
And explaining the decision to name Partey on the bench for the Gunners on Saturday, Arteta admitted the 27-year-old had only had “a day-and-a-half of training” ahead of the City fixture.
Partey eventually came on for Granit Xhaka with seven minutes of normal time remaining to mark his Arsenal debut which ended in defeat.
Meanwhile, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who stuck with a 3-4-3 formation for the City game, has been advised by club legend Tony Adams to revert to a back four now that he has Partey on board to offer the Gunners defence more protection.
Thomas Partey could make his full Arsenal debut in the Europa League on Thursday.
