Mikel Arteta says Thomas Partey has two training sessions to prove he’s ready to make his Gunners debut against Manchester City on Saturday.
The £45m deadline day arrival from Atletico Madrid will join his new teammates for the first time at London Colney on Thursday ahead of the return of the Premier League this weekend.
Partey has been away with Ghana, where he completed 90 minutes in friendlies against Mali and Qatar, and has made three appearances for Atletico this season so match fitness shouldn’t be an issue, it’s whether or not Arteta feels now is the right time for the 27-year-old to make his bow.
He arrived in London on Tuesday when he was presented to the media in an Arsenal shirt for the first time.
"He was here just yesterday (Wednesday), getting familiar with everything around the club. Today he will have his first training session," Arteta said. "Everything has to come really quickly for him.
"We knew that before we signed him. But he's fit, he's very willing to start playing. We will see how he goes in the next few days."
Arsene Wenger has previous commented that it takes new arrivals into the Premier League around six months for them to get fully acquainted with the pace of the division, never mind the personal circumstances surrounding adapting to a new working environment, city and culture.
"I think it's something very individual depending on many factors: how they settle in the city with the family, whether they speak the language, whether their qualities fitted the Premier League more," Arteta added.
"It's very particular, you see players adapting really quickly and others taking a long time."
There is considerable anticipation around the Ghanaian given what he may bring to the Arsenal midfield and with City potentially shorn of Kevin De Bruyne, it could be the perfect opportunity for Arteta to go on the front foot.
The Arsenal manager has favoured a more defensively-minded centre-midfield pairing of Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny in his 3-4-3 for three of this season’s four league matches, including the 3-1 defeat at Anfield against Liverpool.
But Partey could bring an additional x-factor as, although the Gunners’ new No18 can play as a midfield pivot in a withdrawn role, he also likes to break forward and join in with the overall attacking play.
Given City’s desire for midfield control, with or without De Bruyne whose status will be revealed by Pep Guardiola on Friday, Arteta will need to find the balance between restricting the hosts and trying to establish a dominance in that area of the field.
"I've seen the buzz around the place," Arteta said. "The fans are really happy, I've seen some really positive reactions after we brought him.
"The same with the team and staff. We have rated him for a long time. We have managed to bring him in. He's going to be a really important addition to the team."
