Manager Mikel Arteta has called on Ghana international Thomas Partey to step up and be “the boss” of Arsenal’s midfield as the club look to turn their miserable start to the season around.
Arsenal have lost their opening three Premier League games of the season, failing to score a goal in the process, and they sit bottom of the table ahead of tomorrow’s match at home to Norwich.
Arteta is desperate to get a win to ease some of the pressure on his shoulders, particularly from supporters, and he has been boosted by the return of Partey.
The midfielder has been out since the start of August after injuring his ankle in a pre-season friendly against Chelsea, but he is now fit and Arteta has called on him to be a leader.
“He has been missing for the last year or so because he missed almost six months of the competition last year, which is a lot because he came very late as well in the transfer window,” said Arteta.
“He is a player that has to be one of the leaders, he has to be the boss in midfield and one of the senior players that has to carry responsibility out of the young players and lead. We have been missing that big time.
“He is a player that has that winning culture because he has won a lot in the game already, and to have these kinds of players in the team is extremely important. So he has got a huge role to play in the team.”
