PARTEY ANIMAL

Gunners fans have been crying out for years for a successor to on- field general Patrick Vieira and hope they have finally got one in Thomas Partey.

It was Vieira, the leader of the Invincibles, who was nicknamed ‘ The Giant Spider’ for the way he used his long legs to scurry the ball away from opponents.

And £ 45m new boy Partey has exactly the same reputation, even though he has earned a slightly different moniker – after getting an octopus tattoo on his arm.

Speaking for the first time since his deadline- day move from Atletico Madrid, Partey said: “I always say, if I would be an animal, I would be an octopus. When

I was in Almeria they called me ‘ The Octopus’ because I stole a lot of balls.”

It was a loan spell with Almeria which toughened Partey up and he went on to become one of La Liga’s best enforcers under Diego Simeone in Madrid.

KNOCKOUT SIGNING: Arsenal’s new midfield star Thomas Partey only the midfield, but the whole team. You can see they all want to fight and they all want to achieve.” Ghana star Partey, who could make his debut at Manchester City this Saturday evening, is a headline writer’s dream.

But even though Gunners fans won’t see it on his shirt ( inset), he has vowed to live up to his name and get the party started under Mikel Arteta this season.

He said: “I’ve seen Partey’s everywhere and even the photographer asked me why I don’t use Partey on my shirt. It’s because I started with Thomas and people are familiar with Thomas, so I need to go with Thomas.”