Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva lavishes ultimate praise on Thomas Partey

Former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva hailed Thomas Partey's performance against Manchester City - by likening him to legendary teammate Patrick Vieira.

Partey was a standout player in a memorable Arsenal showing, despite ultimately falling short in defeat to Pep Guardiola's side at the Emirates.

The Gunners went toe-to-toe with reigning champions City, and left feeling unjust not to have secured at least a point in a fixture overshadowed by controversial refereeing calls.

City seldom lose control in matches but Ghana international Partey ran the show in one of his most impressive individual displays since his arrival from Atletico Madrid.

Partey incessantly broke up City attacks, drove forward when given the opportunity and was dogged when the Gunners went down to 10 men before agonisingly succumbing to Rodri's late winner.

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It was a display that highlighted just how much Arsenal will miss Partey, who flies off to compete in the African Cup of Nations over the next month.

The Gunners were frustrated to lose in dramatic circumstances after testing City like few other Premier League teams have all season.

But there were plenty of positives to take for boss Mikel Arteta, who was watching from afar after testing positive fo coronavirus.

And former Brazilian star Silva reserved special praise for Partey.

The 45-year-old replied to an official Arsenal tweet showing Partey's heat map, saying ''He looked like @OfficialVieira'.

Partey can take Silva's comparison to Vieira as ultimate praise given his legendary status in North London.

Silva lined up alongside Vieira, now Crystal Palace manager, in midfield for the Gunners during their historic invincible season under Arsene Wenger in 2003/04.

And Silva joined many Arsenal fans in comparing the talents of Partey to the French icon after an all-action showing from the 28-year-old.

First-team coach Albert Stuivenberg stepped in for the isolating Arteta on Saturday and was proud of his side's efforts against City.

"Frustration and being proud of the performance is both there," Stuivenberg said.

"Of course, in football, it's about getting the points and you need and in this case, we really wanted and deserved the three points, but we end with zero points and that's of course very disappointing."

"We are very proud because if you look at our process that we're in with this young team.

"We want to see a team that can develop, be able to compete with a top team like Man City and in this case, I think we were the dominant team.

The Gunners take on Liverpool at the Emirates in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie on Thursday.