Thomas Partey wants to "attack like Yaya Toure and defend like Michael Essien" as he draws inspiration from the former Premier League pair.
Arsenal signed the midfielder for £40m on deadline day after activating his release clause at Atletico Madrid.
Mikel Arteta had been keen to bolster the spine of his squad, which also led to him signing centre-half Gabriel from Lille.
And Partey's arrival will improve his Arsenal side both in attack and defence.
Toure, who spent eight years at Manchester City, was a crucial attacking weapon and scored 79 times while Michael Essien was part of Jose Mourinho's early success at Chelsea.
And Partey is hoping to be a hybrid version of the two African stars as he targets success at the Emirates.
"I like to be both defensive and offensive. I know whenever I am in the opposite area, I have chances for a goal and I think defensively, I want to be stronger,” he told Sky Sports .
"I want to attack like Yaya Toure and defend like Michael Essien so to have both qualities is good.
"Whenever there is a serious game, or in any game, I like to go with surprises.
"Most people see me as a defensive midfielder but with my intelligence and how I read the game, if we're near the end of the game and we're going to finish with 2-0, that's when I go for my goal.
"Playing in the midfield, you have to be mentally quick and be intelligent in how you position yourself and get the ball.
"Mikel [Arteta] is helping me a lot because we always have the ball so you have time to think and position yourself and I think with time, I'll get used to everything and most things will come after that. I think everybody will know and we'll see what will happen."
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