Thomas Partey explains why he will not have his surname behind his Arsenal jersey and making his debut

New Arsenal signee Thomas Partey has disclosed why he wouldn’t have his surname at the back of his Arsenal shirt.

The 27-year-old on transfer deadline day sealed a €50m million move to Arsenal and was unveiled by the Gunners yesterday.

The combative midfielder was given the jersey number 18 at Arsenal and will have his name “Thomas” on the back of his jersey instead of his surname “Partey” that most football fans are familiar with.

Explaining the decision, Partey, who has always had the name “Thomas” on the back of his kit at all teams, except with the National team said he won’t have his surname on the back of his Arsenal shirt because people are more familiar with his first name.

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

When quizzed whether he’s ready to make his Arsenal debut against Manchester City on Saturday, Partey said:  “Well, it’s the decision of Mikel.

“I just arrived. For me, I’m prepared but I need to get used to the style of play before I can play.

“I like to play in the big matches, but it all depends on the coach and whether he wants me to play on Saturday or not.

“It depends on him. I need to get used to the squad and then train with the squad before we can see what we will happen.

“I think there is no pressure on me. I like to challenge myself, I like new challenges and it’s all about learning fast, learning quickly how it goes and you just get used to it and everything works,” he ended.