‘I played against him’: Jack Wilshere thinks Arsenal have a ‘top, top player’ on their hands

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Jack Wilshere has been speaking to talkSPORT after Arsenal crashed out of the Europa League last night, following the 0-0 draw against Villarreal.

The Hale End graduate spoke about Mikel Arteta, the Kroenke Out protests, and a range of other topics as Arsenal’s last shot at silverware ended.

Wilshere did, however, find time to heap praise on Thomas Partey.

The 29-year-old sounds like he’s a massive fan of the Ghana international, despite his tough debut season at the Emirates Stadium.

Wilshere said: “Thomas Partey is a top, top player. I played against him in the semi-final of the Europa League and he was one of the toughest I played against.”

It hasn’t been a successful season for Partey, but anyone doubting him or his ability needs to have a rethink.

The £45 million man is a colossal defensive midfielder, who has the talent to also impact play going forward with his line-breaking passes.

Sadly, the attack under Arteta hasn’t been functioning, and a number of mistakes have been made at the back by Bernd Leno.

As a result, it might seem like Partey isn’t actually influencing the play at all sometimes.

Let’s cut him some slack – it’s been a very unusual season.

The 27-year-old has arrived at a dysfunctional side, while he has surely struggled to settle and integrate properly due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Additionally, we don’t want to sound like we’re making excuses, but the Ghanaian also struggled a lot with injuries when he first arrived.

With things looking up on the pandemic front, and the injury front, we’re expecting big things from Partey next season – with or without Arteta in charge.

Wilshere is spot on – he really is a ‘top, top’ footballer.