Owen Hargreaves heaped praise on Thomas Partey for producing an excellent performance on his full debut for Arsenal as the Gunners came from behind to claim a 2-1 win over Rapid Vienna.
After a goalless first half in the Europa League group-stage opener, the hosts took the lead in the 51st minute when Taxiarchis Founta capitalised on a Bernd Leno error.
However, Arsenal fought back and David Luiz equalised for the visitors in the 70th minute when he headed home Nicolas Pepe’s free-kick.
And substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang secured the three points for the Gunners when he tapped home Mohamed Elneny’s excellent pass.
Partey played the full 90 minutes in an Arsenal shirt for the first time since his transfer to the north London club from Atletico Madrid earlier this month.
And former Manchester United midfielder Hargreaves was highly impressed by his performance.
Speaking on BT Sport after the final whistle, Hargreaves said: “Credit to Mikel Arteta. He made changes and they had a bit more urgency. They looked fabulous when [Hector] Bellerin came off the bench.
“Thomas Partey had one of the best debuts I’ve ever seen, honestly.
“Leno had a bad day at the office but his team-mates bailed him out.”
Arsenal will return to Premier League action on Sunday evening when they host Leicester City at The Emirates.
The north London side are currently fifth in the Premier League table, having taken nine points from their first five games.
