Partey: ‘We cannot compare Partey with Vieira or Gilberto Silva’

Since

’s legendary squad pieced together by Arsene Wenger broke up, the Gunners have been crying out for another legendary player and

Thomas Partey

is the latest to have been acquired for big money, with a £45 million deal don with Atletico Madrid in 2020.

However,

Lauren

believes comparing Partey to Arsenal legends

Patrick Vieira

and

Gilberto Silva

is not fair and the 28-year-old remains a work in progress.

Lauren told

of Partey:

"We have to avoid comparisons because Patrick Vieira is Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva is Gilberto Silva, two world-class players.

"We have to look forward and back Thomas Partey for who he is, he's a different player in a different squad. We cannot compare Partey with Vieira or Gilberto Silva because it's not the right way to look at things.

"Partey is a quality player and he's proved that at Atletico Madrid and since he's arrived, he's been brilliant.

"We have to hope he avoids injuries because a player like Partey needs to play every single weekend and the team will benefit if he does.

"He still has a lot of potentials to get better, so the more he plays then the more likely he'll reach those levels we expect of him."

Partey’s first competitive outing this season was their last game against Norwich, with 28 minutes seen off the bench in a welcome 1-0 win.

He has been suffering from an ankle injury but he is now fully recovered.

Lauren added:

"He's very important for those players in a 4-2-3-1 formation, I didn't think the 4-1-4-1 against Villarreal in the Europa League suited this team.

"Partey is better as a two and allowing his partner to be more advanced and it also helps the likes of Smith-Rowe and Odegaard.

"He balances the back four by giving protection and balances the forward players because they have the freedom to go forward.

"It's important he plays in this role to get the best out of him, but we have to keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't pick up any more injuries.”

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