Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez thinks his former teammate Thomas Partey has been unlucky this season and could become one of the world’s best.

Speaking at an event for LiveScore this week, Saul Niguez discussed his former teammate Thomas Partey. As we know, Partey left Atletico Madrid last summer on deadline day, but he hasn’t had the easiest debut season so far.

Picking up a number of injuries and with the unusual circumstances of his arrival, Saul can understand why Partey hasn’t quite blown up with Arsenal just yet. However, he insists the Ghana international can be one of the best in the world in the future.

“I think he’s been very unlucky because of injuries, especially now that in the UK they are more confined like we were in Spain some months ago,” Saul said.

“Everything has been a bit unfortunate, but I think next season will be a great season for him.

“I think having a coach like Arteta at Arsenal eased things a lot for him. He knows the language and it is a culture that suits him. As a player he’s incredible and if he manages to keep this consistency, he can be one of the best in the world honestly.

“He scores from out of the box, he makes ground, steals, distributes, runs the game himself. But if he ever reads this (laughs) I would like to mention again that he should improve his consistency.”

It’s worth keeping in mind that this is just Partey’s first season. He’s under contract until 2025, another four years after this campaign ends. Only Gabriel Magalhaes is committed to Arsenal for the same length of time right now.

Joining from a different league in an abnormal season and suffering bad luck with injuries, it’s understandable that we might not have seen the best of Partey just yet.

But we’ve certainly been treated to glimpses of what he can do. As Saul says, it’s about consistency now.