Romeo Lavia in, Thomas Partey out — that seems to be what will happen to Arsenal’s midfield by the end of this summer transfer window.
The theory has been that Arteta is keen to revamp his midfield with new blood. Declan Rice has long been identified as a must-have for Arsenal’s engine room next season. In recent days, after it was noted Arsenal had moved on from Moises Caicedo, it is now clear Romeo Lavia could be the other midfielder to join. Lavia is being packaged as Thomas Partey’s replacement, with the Ghanaian tipped to leave.
Considering how influential Partey has been in the midfield on a good day, one may ask: Does the 19-year-old have what it takes to fill in his shoes?
Lavia could shield Arsenal’s back four just as well as Partey. Last season, the Belgian outperformed the Ghanaian in tackles and interceptions, averaging 3.77 per 90 minutes versus Partey’s 3.55.
But there are areas Lavia should work on if he were to replace Partey. One area is ball recovery While Arsenal’s No. 5 recovered the ball 8.15 times per 90 minutes, Southampton’s No. 45 recovered 7.57 times per 90 minutes. Lavia needs to improve his ball recovery. Other things he ought to work on are his confidence and his ability to make progressive passes. The Belgian averaged 4.13 progressive passes per 90 minutes, while Partey averaged more than double that (8.37).
So, the Stats (from FBref) don’t fully back Lavia as a perfect replacement for Partey, but considering the struggles Southampton endured, and he still stood out. He ought to become a better player in an efficient system like Arsenal’s, and considering he is over ten years younger than Partey and is already considered to be a “beast”, he certainly still has lots of scope to become even better.
Daniel O
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