Mikel Arteta is excited to welcome back 'special' midfielder Thomas Partey to his Arsenal line-up.

The Ghana midfielder has been restricted to just six matches for Arsenal and just one match in the last two months due to a thigh complaint.

But Partey is available for Thursday's clash with Crystal Palace and Arteta is looking forward to his return.

"I think he's got a different presence - he brings something different to the team," Arteta said. "It's not just about his talent, it's not just about his physicality, it's who he is as a person.

"He makes players better around him and that's a big, big quality.

"It's incredible that we are in January, we signed him in October and we have only played him [a handful of times]."