Mikel Arteta has explained why he did not immediately place deadline day signing Thomas Partey in Arsenal's starting line-up against Manchester City.
The Gunners activated the £45m release clause of the Ghana international in a dramatic swoop on the final day of the window, bolstering the midfield ranks that Arteta had identified as an area of improvement.
He caught the eye on international duty, securing two assists in Ghana's 5-1 victory over Qatar in an international friendly. However, he will not immediately make an impact for the Gunners as Arteta did not hand Partey a start - although he admitted the thought crossed his mind.
Partey arrived in London to be presented to the media on Tuesday but only trained at London Colney on Thursday and Friday.
"Obviously we were tempted but he had a day and a half of training. There was a lot of new things, a lot of establishing himself here, we need to be a little bit patient and respect some timings as well," he told Sky Sports.
"We had the previous two games where we played against them and obviously everything that they've been doing since the start of the season is an accumulation of a lot of factors, the way our players are feeling as well, and put the best gameplan together."
Arsenal also had a number of questions this week regarding Kieran Tierney, as he was forced to self isolate on international duty after a Scotland teammate tested positive for coronavirus.
Fortunately, he was cleared to feature for Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday and Arteta confirmed the club had received permission for him to feature.
"The doctor and the club dealt with it, we had permission from the Premier League and that was all."
