There are lots of happy Arsenal fans around this morning, and after two months of frustration and impatience, we have finally got the beast of a midfielder that we have been crying out for for decades.
Tomas Partey is a highly experienced 27 year-old who has spent the last 8 years at Atletico Madrid, and he would appear to be the missing link that Mikel Arteta has been looking for this summer. Our boss is really looking forward to seeing him in an Arsenal shirt. “We have been watching Thomas for a while,” Arteta told Arsenal.com. “so we’re now delighted to add such a high quality player to our squad. He is a dynamic midfielder with great energy. He brings a lot of experience from a top club that has competed at the highest level in La Liga and the Champions League for several years.
“We’re very impressed with his attitude and his approach to the game. He’s an intelligent footballer and we’re looking forward to him integrating into our system and contributing to the progress we’re building at the moment at the club.”
High praise indeed from our boss, who knows a bit about what makes a top midfielder. Arteta’s partner in crime, Arsenal’s Technical director Edu, clearly believes Partey is a “brilliant addition” to the club and will fit into Arteta’s plans. “Thomas has all the right attributes to be a top player for Arsenal. He is a leader on and off the pitch and he is exactly the kind of player and person we want at the club. We already feel like we know Thomas very well based on the work we have done analysing his performances closely in recent times.
“With his all-round game and positive aggressive style, he will be a brilliant addition to our squad. We’ve made a strong start to the season and we want to continue to build on this with Thomas now part of our club.”
With Gabriel looking like a brilliant addition to our back line as well, and with Partey in front of him, it looks like Arteta has given the Gunners a solid spine on which to build the team into a more well-oiled machine.
Onwards and Upwards!
Ooh to
Ooh to be
Ooh to be a gooner!!
Buzzing Sue, I had a dream too seeing Partey playing in the home shirt, Loved it. Really happy for this one. And according to reports, I’m glad Chelsea didn’t agree to loan us Jorginho, apparently that was why we went for Partey at the last minute. Don’t know how true that is.
Everything happens for a reason hey, Kstix 😉
“We have finally got the beast of a midfielder that we have been crying out for for decades.”
Same was said when Torreira signed. The idea that Arsenal needed a “beast of a midfielder” in the last decade was borne out of Vera’s impact at the club and the lack of trophies after he left. Arsenal nearly won the champions league after he left without “a beast of a midfielder”. They dominated and nearly won the league in 07/08 without same “beast”. Arsenal’s problem then wasn’t the lack of such a midfielder but the lack of squad depth when the perennial injuries hit and the constant flux given the annual sale of key players.
On Partey, he’s a good player but I don’t see how he solves the major problem of the team at the moment, creativity. Arsenal isn’t creating enough whether at home or away, against a top 6 side or against relegation fodder. If this problem isn’t solved, the excitement of Partey will be pyrrhic and the loud moans of frustration will return.
Th14-Tw14, have you seen Thomas Partey play? There is plenty of creativity in him in his dribbling, forward passing and goal shooting. He is averaging a goal every second game in internationals with Ghana.
Jorginho would have been a second rate selection in comparison to Partey. Thank goodness it didn’t happen.
Can’t wait to see him unleashed at the Etihad 👊
I think he’ll be eased into games Sue, I don’t expect him to play at the etihad as he’s not trained or even met his new team mates yet. May be a substitute if we’re lucky.
If Gabriel could slot right in ,I think Partey can. Being from Ghana, he most probably can speak good english so communication should not be an issue. I’d go for Partey and Xhaka against City . It would allow us to push 6 forward as usual without worrying too much about being hit hard on the break.
I don’t know Joe, he is joining up with his national team straight away, he won’t be able to settle in, meet and train with his new teammates, anyway I trust MA👍
I might just be excited, but we’ll see. I think the only thing to block him would be chemistry which is why I said I’d play him with Xhaka. For the predictability. Ceballos’s spins and tricks could cause miscommunication. Xhaka on the other hand just plays the most logical pass which reduces chances of communication errors.
Joe, you’ve got to be joking; have a look at the players Partey has played with an against. Ceballos won’t cause him any problems.
My thoughts exactly siamois
👍
Ghana have a couple of friendlies on the 9th and 12th.. so you could be right 😟 I guess at least he’s been playing regularly, so he’ll be up to speed in no time…
Would’ve loved to see him play up there.. oh well, it’ll be worth the wait…
The amount of tactical freedom arteta has now is must be orgasmic. Do you know how many different ways he could set up the team sue? Even without switching formations, it’s unlimited.
What a headache to have!! 👍
Things are looking really good, Joe..
Now I’m off to think about how many ways the team can be set up 😄 Be gone a while haha!
Hehe. Grab a controller and load up FIFA
😂
Yes, it would have been a dream to see him at the etihad but fingers crossed, we just might.
Do you think he will slot straight into the team Sue?
I’m not so sure now, Siamois. Ghana’s last fixture is on the 12th… City on the 17th…. maybe??!! 🙂 Hopefully 🙏 haha!
5 days turnaround time is possible. The optimum turnaround time for a professional rugby player is 8 days. I’m sure a footballer must be less.
That’s good to hear, Joe. There’s a glimmer….
Brilliant ,I take my hat off to all involved with this signing, I was adamant that we would never sign Partey ever since he first came on the clubs radar, I was convinced he was not affordable and that we never had the funds available but I am so glad I have been proved wrong ,this is a top drawer player the closest thing we have had to Vierra since he left,I cant wait to see him playing alongside Dani ,well done all,COYG.
👍 Now for the new Gilberto Silva clone at DM.
Top Top signing this one, gives us so many options to change our formation and possibly even bring ozil back into the squad to add creativity.
OT: What do people think about the Wilshere situation? He is 28, available for free, Arsenal is in his blood, he knows Arteta well and if nothing else, would be a valuable squad member with all his experience.
We could offer him a pay as you play contract so we will only pay him when he is fit and contributing. To me it would make sense to bring him into the squad as a back up option and send Willock on loan to the championship to become a more rounded player.
Both Ozil and Wilshere can stay where they are. The current tactics are working. I don’t think we should change them just to find a way for Ozil to play. In the current set up, where would you field him? We might be slow and all that, but it’s working . Rather than waste more time trying to drill the players on something new, I think we should just get them to perfect the current setup. It has potential to be deadly especially with the kinds of overloads it creates in cruicial areas of the pitch.
Spur Burger
There must be reason why West Ham let him go. I remember him fondly but is he still cut out to blossom under Arteta?
I looked up Andy Carrol who is in a type of pay as you play situation. It said he was on a basic retainer. Just the small matter of £20k pw and £75k if he plays 😳😳. I can’t see JW turning up to train and getting nothing. It’s bad enough having Ozil training and not getting a game, without going down a similar route with Wilshere
Joe Allysons he wouldn’t fit in the current set up but as you can see, we struggle against teams who set up a low block against us because we don’t have a midfielder to play in between the lines of the opposition.
With Partey in the squad now, I would suggest playing a 4-3-3 to allow us to link between attack and defense better with an extra midfielder. We can always go back to 3 at the back for the difficult away trips. If we have 3 in midfield then there is definitely space for ozil, saka or ceballos to play in that number 10 roll with Partey, xhaka and elneny to protect the defense.
@Spur Burger, I understand that argument , but I guess why I love the current setup is the numerical advantage it gives us in attack. You couldn’t gain a similar advantage in any other formation without destabilising the defensive side. I think a variation of the current formation we can use to bridge the gap is something like we did at sheffield. Move Willian central midgame . That would put him in a position where he doesn’t really have a marker and would free up Bellerin to run at them. We’ve suffered against defensive teams playing with a number 10 . I like that now we are trying to overload the flanks and hope the coach sticks to his guns.
@Joe Allysons, all in all it is awesome that we finally have these options to chop and change our formation and style of play according to the opposition we play.
I have heard rumours that Arteta is trying to get Saka to play in a creative midfield roll which is an interesting prospect when you consider Saka’s technical ability and how young he is.
Spur Burger. I have the same sentiment as you about Jack. If possible I would like him to be back at Arsenal, obviously as pay as you play kinda situation. We still need creativity and Jack will help with that if he is healthy.
He said he’s been fit for the last 8 months (unheard of 😂)
I’d always welcome him back… can I see it happening? No, not really…
Can’t see him being unemployed for long though…
As for Wilshere, what is the big risk? A pay as you play contract won’t affect our finances that much and there is no doubt (at least in my mind) that he would offer our squad more than what Willock does at the moment. Willock is still a kid and needs to be sent to the Championship to harden up a bit.
Hey, I agree with you, with regards to Willock.. he isn’t there yet and would benefit from a loan – still time for a club to come in for him.
Makes perfect sense what you’re saying about Super Jack, I just don’t see it happening that’s all.
Unfortunately I don’t think it will happen either Sue. But hey, he was only released yesterday. If I can see the potential value in sending Willock on loan and having Super Jack in the squad, then maybe someone at Arsenal will have the same idea haha
😀 You’d like to think so!! But sometimes they don’t always see the wood for the trees 😆
All that talent going to waste – not for too much longer hopefully. One to keep an eye on….
Beastmode, don’t youthink, as I do , that you are just hankering after thelong ago past? Wilshere has been in decline for years , his body no longer able to keep up with his football brain. BEST LEAVE HIM ALONE BUT BY ALL MEANS PITY HIM IF YOU WISH AS I DO.
But as a player for us at the level we need, it has long been a fools gold quest. It won;t happen anyway, so give it up and saveyourself further grief.
That is running in my mind too bro.
Glad to have Party with us, I can see arsenal having a strong and dynamic midfield, perhaps it’ll allow Xhaka and Dani to play further up the pitch and contribute bodies to our attack, either of 433 or 4231, I can see arsenal performing very well henceforth, I love Gabi and I think he will form good partnership with Holding, both are tall and good to sniff out ariel threat and van score some headers too, good days are coming back…….feels good to be a gunner.
Honestly, I feel like we should maintain the current formation (if you can even call it that). I feel like it creates more overloads in awkward areas for our opponents that we would with a 3 man midfield.
Nah its inviting too much pressure and killing the attack , I think as a team we are more solid and defensive sound plus better personal.
A 433 or 4321 was when we were our most creative from previous, it just the defensive was crap at the time
If I was Partey I wud ask he National coach to allow me to go and get acquainted with Arsenal for just a week, since am changing countro
The natinal team coach is a chealsea fan . I don’t think he’s too happy .hehehe
😂😂 gutted!!
Lol…😁😁
To pay full on the spot £45 million means Kroenke has put it there. I’m shocked. With 6’1 Partey in front of our back 4 (not 5…yippee) we can start to play because now we can play 4-3-3. This means that maybe Willian can play as the creative midfield or as a little Santi clone. It will be good to lose the 3 at the back syndrome. I don’t rate Holding because he is so nervous. I can see Gabriel and possibly Chambers as our Centre Backs. Maybe.
This money has to come from Kroenke so as I say shocked.
I’m still waiting for those that always find fault with Kroenke, the man may not be the best but he’s also not the worst owner. Look at manchester united they left all there dealings to the last minute also. Last season we signed Pepe for 72million, signed Martinelli for 6million, Paid Ceballos loan fee of 4million, signed saliba for 30million, signed Tierney for 30millon, signed David Luiz for 9million (with add ons), we spent over 120million last season alone. I keep telling people the real problem is not the Kroenke family the real problem is the mismanagement of the past arsenal senior executives, people complain about this our self sustaining model but Liverpool also goes this same way ,but the difference between us and Liverpool is that they try to maximize there players sales, they sold Solanke for 30million, sold Brewster for 25million where we failed to find a buyer for Sokratis, Mustafi, Kolasinac, we cancelled Myki contract, Ramsey on free transfer, we rejected 60million from city in the summer only to do an exchange with united in January for Sanchez. In the history of arsenal I don’t think we have sold a player for 50million and if we are going to move forward as a team we need to do better in that area. It pains me to see the likes of Liverpool selling there youngsters for good money while we allow ours to keep running down there contracts or selling for peanuts, Balogun have less than a year on his contract(not sure if I’m right though) which means if we don’t find a way to tie him down to a new contract we will also lose him for free. We have to find a way to maximize our players sellings or else we will continue to struggle when it comes to buying the top players.
Fair comment Lenohappy
Other contributors point out that it was lack of commitment from Kroenke to watch his executive appointments more closely- hence the awful transfer policy and wage structure
SueP We all know Kroenke is a not a football fan, that’s why he hired people who knows about the sport and they are being paid good money to do that, the past executives made bad decisions for us, like letting Ramsey run down his contract (in today market, we will easily get 40million for him) giving ozil a 350k salary because they were not bold enough to let him go, rejecting 60whole million for a player who has less than a year on his contract, Wenger definitely has to take the blame for the Gnabry situation loaning an attacking player to west brom under Tony pulis and so on,and yet people expect us to sign an 80million player every window like Chelsea, Chelsea sold Harzad for over 100million, they made a 6million profit on Morata, we seriously need to start doing business the smart way(like what we did to Athletico madrid).
Perhaps then Leno happy the revolution has begun
COYG
Huush Lenohappy, are you out of your mind? You’re backing Kroenke?
Dan the article writer is reading!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Some people just need someone to blame when things aren’t going well. It doesn’t have to make good sense. It just makes them feel better and regain some sanity. I wouldn’t take their whining seriously
Winston you are right, I have never been part of those that blame the owner, we bought Lacazette 2017 for a reported fee of 46million with add ons and bought aubamayang 2018 for a reported fee of 56milliomn (that’s within a year), we bought ozil 2013 for 42.5 million and Sanchez 2014 for 32million(also within a year) not to talk of Xhaka Mustafi and so on and still some will keep blaming the owner and saying he doesn’t spend,🙄, just because he doesn’t spend like city and Chelsea and psg doesn’t mean he doesn’t spend and I’m not sure he takes the money out of the club .
Couldn’t agree more. My sentiments exactly…👍🏾👍🏾
Lenohappy, if I may ask, why do we find it difficult to find buyers for our players at good prices? May be the problem is with us the fans and the board. We, the fans, unwittingly destroy our players with our virulent criticisms such that other clubs start to believe that they are worthless. On the part of the board, they go overboard in the attempt to instill discipline. Guendouzi’s case comes to mind. Shouldn’t he have been reintegrated back into the team by now after his infraction and the punishment imposed on him? In normal times Guendouzi could fetch Arsenal between £35m and £40m but nobody wanted him except on loan because the management had destroyed him in the sight of others. We have a saying in Nigeria, you don’t drive a stubborn child away in the path of a lion. May be if we soften the attacks on our players, others may see the good in them.
Lenohappy, I’m with you on this and have been slating Kroenke (KS&E) given his lack of football knowledge, for his failure to employ and maintain a Board and senior executive to well manage Arsenal’s financial and player assets. That may have changed with the appointment of Edu as football director and Tim Lewis to the Board.
The comparison to the Glaziers at Man United is appropriate given they have reportedly taken 1.5 billion from the Club. KS&E ceased taking the £3 million management fee in 2015 and have consolidated and paid £182 million to relinquish Arsenal’s external debt. This has reduced Arsenal’s ongoing interest payments.
He is fluent in English ,unlike some of the contributors to this blog, – only joking- and with his pedigree ,being thrown in at the deep end will not be a risk.I assume Ceballos will be pushed into a more attacking role with Partey and Xhaka as the midfield hub but Arteta will call the shots and I would not be surprised if he does not start Partey at Manchester.OT, what will we do with Socratis?
If we have Sokratis, let’s play him . He’s not a bac option to have for the odd game.
If we play Xhaka we will never be a fast attacking machine. He is so slow in body and particularly mind that he is more often a liability.
He might be physically slow, but he’s fast at what is necessary . Finding the best pass at the right time.
Sean, I might be one of the few that has not tried, recently, to rewrite history on Xhaka.
I AM WITH YOU IN THAT I STILL THINK HIM NEARLY USELESS. HE IS SLOW, PONDEROUS, PREDICTABLE AND IMMOBILE. That adds up to nearly useless in my book.
With Partey, I’d like to see Ceballos play further up the pitch, also we have 2 extra non homegrown players, 19 and we can only register 17,so who are the 2 who will not be part of our squad? I’m pretty sure who one of them is! The other one, Sokratis? Kola ?
Definitely not Kola. we actually need him and I believe he’s a decent squad option to Tierney.
I think Ozil and sokratis are out of the squad till their contract expires.
You’re probably right!
Let me start dreaming of our best STARTING 11 and formation with Partey now onboard can I? Remember, this is my personal opinion based on the players I believe can give us a better outcome in games. If you don’t agree with it, you can put out yours and nobody will shoot you in the head for that. Thank you.
4-3-3 Formation
————————–Leno———————–
Bellerin/Niles——-Luiz———Gabriel———Tieney
Willian—————-Partey———————–Saka
Pepe—————-Lacazette————-Aubamayang
4-2-3-1 Formation
————————–Leno———————–
Bellerin/Niles——-Luiz———Gabriel———Tieney
—————-Partey———El-Neny————–
——————–Willian/Ceballos—————-
Pepe/Willian———Aubamayang————–Saka
4-4-1-1 Formation
————————–Leno————————–
Bellerin———-Luiz———Gabriel————Tieney
Pepe/Willian——Partey——Cebeallos——-Saka
————————Lacazette———————–
———————-Aubamayang———————
3-4-3, Formation
——————————Leno————————-
Saliba/Holding———–Luiz—————–Gabriel
Bell/Niles/——–Partey——Cebeallos——–Tieney
Pepe/Willian———-Aubamayang———–Saka
3-4-1-2 Formation
—————————–Leno—————————
Saliba/Holding————Luiz——————-Gabriel
Bell/Niles/Cedric—-Partey—-Cebeallos—–Tieney
—————————Willian———————-
————–Lacazette——–Aubamayang———-
3-4-2-1 Formation
Saliba/Holding———–Luiz——————-Gabriel—
Bell/Niles——–Partey—-Cebeallos———-Tieney
——————–Willian——-Pepe/Saka————–
———————-Aubamayang———————-
Where are the merchants of doom and gloom gone? Yesterday they were calling out Stan, as they say ” talk is cheap”. Today we have Partey with us, no one speaks up for the progress being made at the club at weeding out the dross.
Loose Cannon they won’t talk now, wait till we lose a match or play badly 🤣
Loose Cannon, unfortunately the high wages paid at Arsenal are making players unattractive to buyers and reticent to leave. Even Kolasinac and his wife wanted to move back to Germany, but are still here. The failures of the past are proving difficult to rectify.
If every one of our centre backs were fit and available,Socratis would be my pick of last resort.
Another one who looks like he would rather not play, than have to earn his money, as a “so called professional” footballer.
Mine too Grandad!