Arsenal started February failing to win any of their Premier League games, however, Mikel Arteta has since led the Gunners to three straight wins to have them five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.
The recent good run proves early February was just a blip and a first league title since 2003/2004 is very much within their grasp heading into the final months of the season.
With just 13 matches left, the race for the title will likely go down to the wire and Arteta must start with his strongest line-up every match, and with Thomas Partey making his comeback from injury against Everton in midweek, the 40-year-old must unleash him against AFC Bournemouth this afternoon.
Will Thomas Partey start against Bournemouth?
To prove how important Partey is to Arsenal, against Everton in their 1-0 defeat last month, the Ghanian was substituted off in the 59th minute and the Toffees scored a minute later.
He also missed the game against City due to injury, the final result? A 3-1 defeat. The North London side did win against Aston Villa, although they conceded twice without Partey in their midfield.
The 29-year-old managed 45 minutes against Everton in midweek and was incredible. He came on for Jorginho at halftime and averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.5/10 for his display, taking 66 touches while having a 93% pass success rate while making one key pass and creating a big chance.
Partey was also solid defensively, making two tackles and winning all three of his ground duels during his 45-minute cameo and it proves Arteta needs to start him today.
These statistics show that the battler made a huge impact on the pitch with his quality on and off the ball, which is why the gem should return to the starting XI now that he is fit.
Journalist Yaw Ampofo Jr claimed after the win that the enforcer “brings stability to Arsenal” and this was clearly evidenced throughout his performance while after the 1-1 draw against Brentford last month, he was dubbed an “absolute monster” by journalist Abhimanyu Bose and both these comments clearly suggest the midfielder makes a massive difference to the dynamic of the side when he is fit and firing.
The North Londoners look to have put their sticky spell behind them and will be hoping to secure their fourth win on the bounce against Bournemouth today. In order to do this, Arteta must start with Partey in the middle of the pitch as the gem holds the key to everything good Arsenal have done recently.