Arsenal are going places under Mikel Arteta and the signing of Thomas Partey is the latest piece in that jigsaw.
The Gunners left it until the final hours of the window to sign the Ghanaian from Atletico Madrid on Monday.
As per Sky Sports, Gunners technical director Edu has spoken about how long they had been tracking Partey for.
And of course, they needed to get the finance from the owners, including Stan Kroenke and Edu shared his excitement at getting the deal done.
“If you saw my plan six or seven months ago when I did it with Mikel, Thomas was there already,” said Edu.
“You see how many months we had to try to find the right player.
“It is a huge investment for this moment which we are in now and of course we need the green light from them (the owners, including Kroenke).
“When I showed my plan to them, they were so excited, they understand the plan and pressed the green button.”
Partey looks to be a clear upgrade in the Arsenal midfield, offering energy and creativity.
Arteta has often asked just two players to man the engine room and Partey’s dynamism will add a new dimension in that area of the field.
Coming in so late on in the window, the challenge is for him to settle in quickly; getting to grips with English football, as well as a new club and team-mates.
But he’s got Kroenke excited already.
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