Silva praises ‘important’ Arsenal star ahead of NLD
Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva has praised Thomas Partey ahead of the North London derby, claiming that he can be “important” for them.
Partey was a long term target for Arsenal before he secured his move to them in 2020 from Atletico Madrid. The Gunners paid £45m to bring him to the Premier League.
His debut season in 2020/21 was impacted by injury but he performed well from his 36 appearances across all competitions.
How Spurs or Arsenal could win a potentially thrilling NLD…
Partey missed Arsenal’s first three league games this season due to an ankle injury. He is now fully fit and he is set to feature against Tottenham on Sunday.
Silva has told Goal that Partey “makes a difference on the field” for Arsenal:
“Everyone knows how important he can be for the team,” Silva said.
“Having this calibre of player is always good for the players because they trust him, especially in that position where many things are decided.
“I hope that he is going to be 100 per cent fit to play 90/95 minutes and help the team. This is what we expect from big players. In this kind of game, they increase their level of quality to push others.
“He is somebody who makes a difference on the field. This is what we expect from a player like Partey.”
Silva went onto say that Partey is a similar player to fellow Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira:
“Obviously he has quality but it’s hard when you compare someone.
“He has his type of game and me and Patrick had the way we played. The partnership between us worked fantastically and for you to play well, sometimes you need somebody on your side on the same level to raise your game.
“At that time it was not only me and Patrick. We had players around us who gave us the support to increase the level of our games. This is the difference.
“Partey is an important player, he has the possibility to grow even more. But it’s important that the other players come with him, improve their level, the way they play and build up this strong, winning mentality.”
