Thomas Partey is set to leave Arsenal at the end of this month after failing to reach an agreement on a new contract with the club.
The midfielder has been an important figure in Mikel Arteta’s setup when fit and available, and the Gunners were keen to keep him in the squad heading into next season. However, despite mutual interest in a renewal, the two parties could not come to terms, and Partey now looks set to begin a new chapter in his career.
Partey Was Keen to Stay
Partey has been one of Arsenal’s top midfield performers over the last twelve months, especially when he has been able to maintain his fitness. Arteta has consistently trusted him in big games, and the Ghanaian’s ability to control the midfield and protect the backline has made him a key presence when healthy.
The midfielder himself had been open to staying. He has always spoken positively about his time in North London and appeared to value the relationship he had built with the fans and the coaching staff. Arteta publicly expressed a desire to keep Partey and integrate him into next season’s plans, but the club and player have ultimately been unable to find common ground on a contract extension.
Fenerbahce Step Up Interest
With talks now over, Arsenal has begun preparing for life without Partey. According to Turkiye Gazetesi, Turkish giants Fenerbahce have taken steps to bring the 32-year-old to the Super Lig. The report suggests they contacted the midfielder’s representatives shortly after it became clear he would leave Arsenal and have since accelerated their push to get a deal done.
Partey would arrive in Istanbul as a free agent, and it would be a major coup for Fenerbahce if they are able to complete the move. He brings top-level experience from both the Premier League and La Liga, as well as Champions League pedigree.
It’s disappointing that Arsenal couldn’t reach a deal to keep Partey, given how impactful he can be when fully fit. However, we wish him nothing but success in the next stage of his career, wherever that may be.
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If true, then no gigantic final pay day in Saudi for Partey, but the chance to play in front of fanatical supporters in Turkey. He could be quite a success there.
The question for Arsenal is; can Zubimendi provide the same kind of athletic, physical presence as Partey, or does the loss of Partey force Rice into a deeper role in order to provide the kind of protection the back four have become accustomed to.
Signing Christian Norgaard provides some reassurance, defensively. Assuming that the Gunners sign both Zubimendi and Norgaard, the midfield is finally looking solid; with Mikel Merino and Rice playing center midfield and Norgaard and Zubimendi providing defensive stiffness and athleticism. Arsenal also have Miles Lewis-Skelly, of the recently extended contract, who is capable of playing in midfield, The club also have Albert Sambi Lokonga, who had a decent, though injury-plagues loan at Sevilla. It is expected he will, once again depart, either on loan or permanently.
Arsenal still have some sorting to do around the attacking midfield role, with Odegaard the obvious starter; but is Kai Hazertz his understudy, or is Ethan Nwaneri going to get some time there? Will Havertz move from striker to attacking midfield, which is his more natural position. Arsenal also have attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira, who had a fine season on loan at Porto, returning to the team. This turns a position in which there was a dearth to a surfeit.
On the right, Arsenal still have a hole behind Saka; Nwaneri has played as Saka’s understudy, but he’s a #10, not a winger. He does not have Saka’s pace or guile though he has been a decent back up. There appear to be no plans to address the need for a new right winger this summer, despite Saka’s recent injury issues.
On the left, Trossard, 30, and Martinelli, 24, have been effective as a team; 8 goals each; but Arsenal seem determined to bring in a new left winger. Trossard has little sell-on value, so the assumption is, Eze, Nico Williams, or a similar player comes in, Martinelli leaves.
At striker, so many questions remain. Sesko or Gyokeres, and will either provide what Arsenal need; a reliable first XI scorer and finisher capable of giving the team 20+ goals per league season. Will their front office’s ‘brilliant negotiations’ result in the right player at the right time, or will the current dithering result in another season of bridesmaid and not bride regarding a title. And with this sorted, what do do with Gabriel Jesus? Cut him loose? Bench him as has been Arteta’s wont since taking over, or ship him ou9t on loan? Will Kai Havertz been the understudy?
In defense, it will be interesting to see if Arsenal finally sort out the left-back role. Arsenal have invested close to 200 million in the position in the last five years; with Kieran Tierney, Oleksander Zinchenko, Ricardo Calafiori, Jakob Kiwior, Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber, and Miles Lewis-Skelly (and one or two others) attempting to fill the role. Tierney is returning to Celtic, Zinchenko has been rumored to leave, Jurrien Timber has found a home on the right, displacing Ben White. Partey is on his way out, an Kiwior, a disaster at left back, has been solid as a reserve center back. Calafiori seems like an awfully expensive back up to Lewis Skelly, but that looks like the state of play on the left.
On the right side of the defense, there is still the usual bloat. Takehiro Tomiyasu has spent more time in rehab than Robert Downey Jr. (though for different reasons) Ben White suffered major injury, and was replaced by Jurrien Timber, who was originally signed as a left back. Timber now appears to be first choice, with White battling for relevance and Tomiyasu a £100,000 per week passenger.
At center back, stories of Kiwior’s imminent departure seem to have died down, with Saliba and Magalhaes the first choice, and Kiwior and the rumored arrival of Christhian Mosquera providing depth on the right should Saliba get injured or decide not to renew his contract.
Lots of things to be decided; with Arsenal’s principal rivals – Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man City making their own decisive and dramatic moves. even if everything goes according to the Arsenal’s plan, a title may still require as much luck and hard graft as tactical brilliance to pull off.
I don’t get how our fans have come to a conclusion that Partey protected our backline.
Partey is very poor defensively, he lacks self awareness defensively. And he is not athletic. He has always struggled when up against very good dynamic / athletic midfielders.
He is a very good Box to Box player when fully fit and on his game. When in possession he is so good. No doubt about that. But his weakness has always been on the defensive side. He is easily out paced when we are being countered. He lets opposition players ghost past him on and around our penalty area.
He is definitely more physically stronger than Zubimendi but I also think that Zubimendi has more to his game than Partey.
But we will see if Zubimendi can adapt to the toughest league in football (EPL). If he can then I do believe that he will be much more influential than Partey.
But that’s me being overly optimistic. We will see. 👍🤞
I wonder how you came to those conclusions about Partey.
A player known for his excellent tackling and interceptions
particularly in duels, and his ability to intercept passes.
Good defensive positioning and is adept at covering ground quickly, especially in the space between full-backs and center-backs, and has good positional awareness.
Partey’s work rate and conviction in pressing opponents make him influential when his team is without the ball.
He is a strong and physical player who can disrupt opponents and win back possession.
If those attributes protected not the back-line then no one can.
I wonder how you came up with those conclusions on Thomas.
He has been good at his played games, and like other players their falls and rises, Like you mentioned them all. Arsenal fans don’t realize that Mikel has all kind of players he needs but he uses them wrongly.
I’ve given up speculating about which striker Arsenal will bring in. I have confidence in Berta though as he’s a fine SD, but he’s not a miracle worker.
I’m surprised that Tomiyasu in particular is still with us, as I am with Jesus keeping his place in the squad (at a reported £14m a season, a considerably more expensive “passenger”), but who else would pay those wages?
I guess the priority among current players is getting Saliba re-signed to beat off interest from Real Madrid (for a time, anyway).
Even if everything goes to plan, whatever the plan really turns out to be, I think Arsenal will need a fair degree of luck to get the title in 2025-26 because all of the other contenders are strengthening. I just hope our best title opportunities won’t turn out to be those very close races against City.