The Guardian has revealed that Arsenal has long wanted to sign Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid.
The Gunners have just completed the signing of the Ghanaian midfield anchor, but he could have joined them in the summer of 2019.
The report claims that Arsenal had been scouting him for some time and he was one of the players that Unai Emery wanted to sign.
The Spanish manager even went to watch him in one of his games and the plan was to land him in the 2019 summer transfer window.
However, money was tight and the former Arsenal boss had to prioritise signing a winger.
Arsenal would then splash the cash on Lille’s Nicolas Pepe and they ended their pursuit of the midfielder that summer.
Partey remained with Atletico and he got even better as a player, prompting the Gunners to move for him on Monday.
He will join the club as one of the best box-to-box players in Europe and Arsenal will hope that he can help them make a return to the Champions League at the end of this season.
