At one point, it seemed likely that Thomas Partey would remain at Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta publicly stating he did not want the midfielder to leave when his contract expired. However, that stance now appears to have changed.
According to Caught Offside, there is an increasing likelihood that the Ghana international will depart as a free agent when his current deal runs out.
Negotiations between the club and the player have reached an impasse. Arsenal are unwilling to offer improved terms, while Partey is reportedly pushing for a pay rise. If he does leave, the question arises, do Arsenal need to sign another specialist number six?
The answer? Probably not.
Why Arsenal do not need to replace Partey
Martín Zubimendi, whose transfer is expected to be finalised soon, is set to become Arsenal’s new number six. Declan Rice is more than capable of dropping deeper to support him, while Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly also offer depth in midfield.
If absolutely necessary, Mikel Merino could step into that role as well. Though it may be a divisive view, a rotation of Zubimendi, Rice, and Lewis-Skelly should be more than sufficient to compensate for Partey’s exit.
Arsenal do not need a like-for-like replacement. With a new striker incoming, one of Kai Havertz or Merino will likely operate in the left-sided number eight role, freeing Rice to sit deeper when required.
What Partey’s departure could signal
Partey’s exit could allow Arsenal to shift focus towards attacking reinforcements and may also open the door for the arrival of Jorrel Hato, with Lewis-Skelly moving further up the pecking order in midfield.
While Partey’s quality and experience were evident last season, his and Jorginho’s departures represent a natural evolution in Arsenal’s midfield. It is a transition that Mikel Arteta must embrace if his project is to continue progressing rather than plateauing.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments Gooners.
Daniel O
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Allowing Partey to leave isn’t a smart decision
We have a more than adequate replacement.
I would be sad if he leaves.
It’s high time he leaves to win a trophy
Partey would be a great option to have in the midfield especially a well rested Partey but he seems to be pushing for a pay rise when it’s evident he is on the decline physically. A shame to see him go but we can’t let ourselves be bullied in negotiation by a player who isn’t as untouchable as he was before.
If he’s better valued elsewhere, he makes the decision.
MA knows what he wants ….. the rest is history
Shame. This tells me winning with this team doesn’t mean much to him. I guess he just doesn’t believe though he remains a ‘fan’. Goodluck chap. You played your part.
This why our recruiting team and the coach should stop buying any players that is above 25 years.
We can’t continue losing both ways, we didn’t win anything with Partey and Jorginho and do make any money on them either.
Except we are embracing chaos rather than control, then we will cope better without Partey who brings that sense of calm in our midfield. Ball winners,ball carriers and creators are what the midfield trio of Zubimendi, Rice and Ødegaard possess. They are tireless runners too.
Losing both partey and jorginho at the same time will have an impact – zubi will step into the first team, but we’ve not got anyone else who has shown they can play the 6/holding midfield role in a team like ours. We’ve generally struggled when rice played there, and MLS hasn’t been tried (and while I believe he can do it, he showed his inexperience at times last season, so it likely wouldn’t be ideal over a long run of games. Wouldn’t be surprised if we try to make a jorginho-type signing – someone older who won’t expect to play often but can influence things off the pitch and step in to cover when needed. Who can do that, I don’t know.
I tend to think zubi will work really well with rice in midfield, though – so hopefully the first team will be improved.
Why pretend Ødegaard is expendable.
He was Arsenal worst starting midfielder last season.
Has been on steady decline for years . . .
But hey!
Let Arsenal focus on discarding a player clearly better than the captain whose attenuation almost certainly is going to continue.
Arsenal is more than capable without any particular player.
But this particular player in question was one of the best, last season, if not the very best.