Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has said he was happy that Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey has rediscovered his form after struggling when he joined from Atletico Madrid.

Xhaka told Arsenal website that Partey, who scored in the 2-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday, was too critical of himself having seen his career slowed down by injuries when he joined Arsenal from the Spanish side.

“He criticised himself very hard I think [earlier in the season], but he’s fit, he’s healthy, he’s so important for us,” Xhaka told Arsenal Media.

“You can see his qualities without the ball, with the ball and everything starts from him and not only on the pitch, but off the pitch as well he’s a lovely guy, a guy who helps the young people a lot, I’m enjoying being a part of the midfield with him.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he was on Partey’s neck urging him to up his game.

“Probably being on his neck everyday because he needs it a little bit. It comes from the player though I think. We discussed it in the press conference the other day a little bit, but I think when a player accepts their reality, and when a player accepts that – OK he wants to be in a different position—you can’t expect that (change) to happen if you don’t change anything that you do. So he has started to do many other things, and you can see that he is enjoying being on the pitch, and this is what we want,” he told the website.

The Ghanaian midfielder also won his first-ever Arsenal Player of the Month February award for Arsenal last month.

Partey was part of Ghana squad that disappointed after crashing out of the early stages of the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon in January.