"Being Ghanaian is a great privilege" - Thomas Partey

He may be thousands of miles from home, but Ghana remains absolutely central to Thomas Partey's identity.

The new Arsenal midfielder is fiercely proud of his homeland, and passionate about giving something back to his compatriots.

"It's the greatest part of my life," Partey told Arsenal.com. "I was there before, I've been through a lot of things and I know how difficult it is for people without hope.

"I try to help the young ones. My father has a [football] team, I give them a lot of equipment and then we try to bring some of them that are more talented to Europe. We have a team in Europe where we bring a lot of Ghanaian players for trials.

"[Ghana] is where I grew up, it means a lot to me. I can't be different from any Ghanaian.

"I know where I've come from, I know how the system is there and being Ghanaian is a great privilege. It's like being a family. You can't leave your family."