Have to avoid comparing Thomas Partey to Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, proclaims Lauren

While there was a lot of hype when Thomas Partey signed for Arsenal, the midfielder has struggled to consistently play for the club with injuries taking a toll. Instead, the 28-year-old’s debut season saw him make only 33 appearances across all competitions with 17 games thanks to hamstring, hip and various muscle injuries. However, both fans and Partey hope that things change this time around but the midfielder has started the season with an ankle injury.

With him fully fit and ready for action again, the hope in the Arsenal camp is that the 28-year-old former Atletico Madrid defensive midfielder helps take the club to the next level. But in light of comparisons to both Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, Lauren believes that they need to stop as Partey is his own man. The former Arsenal star also added that the Ghanaian has potential to become even better and needs to stay fit to achieve that.

"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,” Lauren told Goal.

"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 potential to get better, so the more he plays then the more likely he'll reach those levels we expect of him."