Mikel Arteta and Edu say they’ve been keeping tabs on Thomas Partey for a while and are delighted to bring him into the Arsenal fold.
The Gunners triggered the Ghana international’s €50 million release clause late on transfer deadline day and wrapped up the player’s medical and paperwork in double-quick time to beat the 11pm deadline.
The midfielder, who has been given the number 18 shirt, will now fly from Spain to Turkey to join up with his country for international duty before visiting London Colney for the first time ahead of our match with Manchester City on 17 October.
“We have been watching Thomas for a while, so we’re now delighted to add such a high quality player to our squad,” said Arteta.
“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.”
Technical director Edu echoed the manager’s positive words, adding: “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.”
GET IN!
Last moment sigings r the best type of sigings specially when the other club is left clueless and feeling aggrieved. Take that Simone! Fuck all your transfer shenanigans!
Good for Edu to not let them know until the end…??
The more I think of it, the more I think we waited until last moment just to fuck with atletico. They were playing hard ball over the price so we decided to activate the clause in the last minute of the transfer market without telling them so they wont be able to spend that money, until january.
I was curious to see the reaction of their fans so I went to an Atleti blog.
Turns out they have 30 days to sign a replacement, although it might be hard to convince other clubs to sell?
(unless they pay another player’s release clause themselves)
“Though the transfer window will shut Monday night, Atlético will have until Nov. 5 to sign a replacement for Thomas within Spain. LaLiga allows a club 30 days to replace an outgoing player who departed via a release clause in his contract.”
https://www.intothecalderon.com/2020/10/5/21502619/atletico-madrid-thomas-partey-set-deadline-day-transfer-arsenal
This is correct and one of the biggest fallacies of Spanish football. Inevitably Atletico will poach a player from a smaller club and it will be them that end up with an important player gone and no hope of adequate replacement.
The whole release clause system, is a nonsense.
Does that second club also have 30 days to sign a replacement then?
I’d assume only if the release clause is activated
They do, but for smaller clubs, the player being poached is often a very important player (club captain, top goal scorer, etc.) Essentially there is no “replacement”.
That’s such a stupid rule. Good information though @Kareem Mohammed.
I just hope they wont be able to find anyone of his calibre.
Hopefully Torreira plays so well they will buy him next year for 20 mill and let us recoup some of that 50 mill euros ?
They already have Torreira. Don’t think he’s that shit that Athletico can’t rely on him for a year. Torreira is good but not as good as Partey though.
Except we loaned them torreria so…….
THANKS to Kroenke. I say it.
There there Joshie.
yeah, it’s fair. We took our time, but Arteta did have his backing. There is really no way we could ever have expected 2 midfielders at this price in the current global climate. But this guy is EXACTLY what we needed so I’m chuffed. Thanks, but still, fuck Stan, he’s a piece of shite Billionaire with morals of peverted priest. There should be no billionaires <full-stop>
Too right. I hope one day one of his “trophie hunts” hunts him!
Whaaaaat…?
Even if he did put the money up, he’s probably added it to our other debts – such as the stadium, that, thanks to Kroenke’s refusal to contribute a single penny, we are STILL paying off.
FUCK Kroenke.
Two years in a row Arsenal have come out with signings that nobody thought we had the money for, still the fan base here can only offer abuse.
Considering that we spent 100M last summer on 2 players who are not automatic 1st team players (Pepe and Saliba), this is a strong show of faith to shovel out another 80M this summer.
Shame we couldn’t sell or shift more players this window, but with a centre back, strong enforcer midfielder and experience of Willian it’s not been a bad window.
Wage bill must be looking very large right now though
Torriera, Guendouzi, Mkhitaryan, we’re clearing out all Sven Mislintat’s deadwood.
Torreira is not a deadwood, he’s not just the kind of player Arteta wants. Remember when he came in under Emery he stabilised our midfield for sometime.
The domestic window doesn’t close till the 16th if I’m not wrong. Hopefully loan deals here and there, especially for our defenders. 8 CB’s is 3 or 4 too many.
The Oct. 16th deadline is for deals between the EPL and lower divisons in England. I doubt the likes of Sokratis and Kola would accept a loan assignment to the Champtionship.
Could be good for Saliba if his loan didn’t go. I guess Norwich will be needing a CB now. Potentially Willock and even Nelson could go to decent championship sides also.
I think Fulham were rumoured as well as St Etienne (I know), but at this point of his development he should be in the top flight somewhere, not lower divisons
I’m somewhat surprised at the strong negative view here. Im simply observing that if a loan was considered good for his development then a championship loan and regular football could be good. As promoted teams regularly show, the Championship is a strong, competitive league… With all due respect to other leagues, I imagine top championship teams would compete closely with weaker top flight teams from France and some other big European leagues. It might also offer Saliba a chance to adapt to English football slightly out of the limelight. Of course if these guys can step up and perform for… Read more »
yes, in the top flight, with Arsenal.
The good thing about that is if we take Saliba on loan for the season then we’ll be able to offset some of his wages to… us.
In my opinion, if they sit on their arses for a season they will get fat and slow, and nobody will be too quick to hire them. Playing anywhere would be more beneficial to their careers, and they could very well shine in the Championship. For much the same reason, I can’t help thinking that going on loan would have been the sensible move for Ozil, which is why I wonder if there is something deeper or more catastrophic in his life than “lazy bastard”. Perhaps that time he was almost carjacked has preyed on his mind/sent him nuts, or… Read more »
Let’s get the partey started
During the weekend many of us rejoiced the defeat by ManU and Liverpool.
Yesterday, it was fun watching the trolley dash by ManU.
I’m actually still laughing at them for buying Maguire at the record price, as though price alone will make him a world class player.
Edu and Arteta, the new David Dein and Wenger!
Arteta can be but I reserve my judgement on Edu for another window or two.
To be fair to Edu, he needs the time, given the highly unusual situation the world including football world is in.
Let’s just see what happens this season first and whether or not we get back into the top four, before dishing out such grandiose comparisons.
Let the good times roll.
Welcome to the ARSENAL partey. Can’t post on main blog for some reason so just wanted to say many thanks to AM for your live feeds and constant input throughout this deadline day. Brilliant work Andrew & your team, much appreciated and keep up the fantastic work.
Hopefully we can get UCL football this season, and get a creative player, I think that’s the missing link in this team. For the first time in years we have solid defense (sure Luiz can still make mistakes once in a while, but we can’t deny we’ve been so much organized lately), and we actually have a good forward line both atm and people with big potential (specially Saka and Martinelli). If only we can get a creative midfielder, I’ll be over the moon.
I recommend the podcast.
Aour and Saka .. darn near the same player.
Looking up. Looking UP.
And let the bad party/partey puns rain, muthafookers!
I’m a closet Roma fan. Il cappitano, il maestro, Totti.
No Totti, no party. He’s one of my all time favorites. Skillful. Silky. Athletic in his pomp. And a total bastard. Love that man to bits.
Well, look out!
Ah yes. One of my all time favourite moments. Keown winding up Totti until the elastic broke and the silly sod leapt up and elbowed him in the face.
Right in front of the ref for bonus idiot points.
We have creative midfielders in the club already. You just have to appreciate what you have- Saka, Ceballos for example.
I know a lot of us are crying for Aouar. But there’s no guarantee of success with any transfers. And if he’s as great as some think, another club will have come up with 60m euros demanded by Lyon.
u r right. forget abt Aouar as he not committed to our club after his mind be swing by Real Madrid.
as we have Partey protevtion now so we can even dare to play Ozil in no 10 with less defensive work, who is much better than Aouar in term of creativity. or play ESR.
Let Aouar regret & waiting at Lyon next 2 season after RM spent all their $ on Mbappe, Camavinga & replacement of Ramos. they aldy have Hazard why need u Aouar…
True, but many people feel that paying Ozil a high wage and not playing, is better than paying him and being involved in the match day squad. Nuts.
Arteta has been pretty clear about every player getting a clean slate but needing to conform to his non negotiables or they wouldn’t be part of the club. Gendouzi chose to leave via loan. Ozil is choosing to sit out a year – no small decision at his age. The most important contribution both will have made is showing to other players Arteta is serious.
I’m inclined to say Ozil is broken mentally/psychologically. He’s not been the same player since the World Cup drama. I would genuinely not be surprised if he runs down contact with us and leaves football all together. He’ll not sign for another club, except maybe for a team in Turkey if he can find some fun without pressure.
His job has become a job. No love for the game, no motivation. He’ll go away and do some private business away from public eye.
This is my baseless prediction. Time will tell
I’m glad you think like me. Bring back Ozil now that he has enough protection and see him flourish. I think he still has something under his locker he just needs to be be motivated again and managed properly.
Not just that. Maybe Arteta’s overall plan doesn’t need a creative player. Liverpool did well without one and only now they’ve added Alcantara.
IMO our biggest issue offensively was not being able to control play/keep the ball further up the field. We don’t have forwards that can hold the ball and let the midfield get closer and we don’t have a midfielder that could bring the ball to join the attack.
Hopefully with the addition of Partey which looks like he fits the bill. We can involve more bodies in attack like Saka and Ceballos
Temporal solution is to bring back Ozil and get him motivated to play again. At least let’s try and get value for the money we spend on his wages.
No the temporary solution is to play Willian or Saka in that role (with support from ESR/Willock in cups). Personally, I would love to see us go to a 4-3-3 (or 4-2-3-1) now: Leno Bellerin-Luiz-Gabriel-Tierney Partey-Ceballos Pepe-Willian-Saka Auba Between that front 6 we have much improved mobility and creativity. And with the Partey-Ceballos combo we have enough defensive strength and mobility to shift to a back 4. And Partey gives us drive through the middle we’ve been lacking for a long long time. No doubt we would lose a little bit of our structure from the 5-2-3, but we can… Read more »
You’re wasting your breath on here mate.
People would rather watch us move the ball in a horse shoe around the D for 90+ minutes than admit that this midfield has severely lacked creativity since Ozil’s omission.
I have been waiting for this special news,welcome to arsenal family,africa unite
I’m curious as to why he wasn’t given the number 5 shirt seeing as it’s the number he wore for Atletico/wears for Ghana and Sokratis hasn’t made a matchday squad yet. Is there some kind of rule against changing squad numbers after the season has started?
That’s not the Arsenal way. It’s like you coming into work the next day and finding out your desk has been given to some new guy your boss just hired.
That depends if Sokratis is going to be included in the squad. If not, it’s more like your desk being given to a new guy because you’ll be working at reception/from home for the next year.
Holy fuck!
Welcome to the Arsenal Mr. Partey!
I was just gonna say, el neny and ceballos is way more effective than xhaka and … pretty much anyone.
A proper, athletic, dribbling physical presence in the middle of the park.
And Saka, and Willian, and Pepe. And Auba. And Laca and Eddie.
Stop the fooking bitching, people. This. Is. Big.
Experience, intelligence, muscle and, killer long balls from Xhaka and Partey.
Flair, creativity plus ability and will to help in defending from the Maestro,
and dynamism and goals from the 3 musketeers…
Aaahhh! I just can’t wait!
I would like this to be the way forward for now, at least against the teams we’re expected to beat.
Leno
Hector Luiz (until Saliba is ready) Gabriel Tierney
Partey Ceballos
Ozil (I know)
Willian/Pepe Auba Saka
I was scared to say Özil.. but can’t hurt to have a look
What are you scared of?
Half a million thumbs down from a group of FIFA20 addicts who wouldn’t know a cultured world class athlete from a pub side neanderthal…?
Ozil might not even be in premier league squad.
Would be kind of hilarious to see that happen even if just for the social media meltdowns we’d see, but i’d imagine it’ll be 2 from Mustafi/Sokratis/Kola considering we can field almost a full eleven of players that can play CB right now
We used to say that about midfielders once upon a time
The hate continues….
With an enforcer like partey in the middle, it does open up options and would provide good cover for Ozil, but I’d put him on when we are 2 up to see if it works.
Willian for Ozil and you’re bang on!
Oh dear. Someone who thinks Willian is better than Ozil.
?
Fook yeah doggy! And he isn’t injured!
Love it! I’ve been dreaming of this for a long time. Welcome the Partey!
So who will he replace? Xhaka, or Ceballos?
Elneny
I think he might replace Holding?
(Except for games like City or Liverpool).
Which would mean a back 4 (Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel and Tierney) and a midfield 3 (Xhaka/El Neny, Ceballos and Partey).
Torreira. He’s a DM unlike Ceballos and Xhaka
Footballwise this is a Great capture. We had an option of two players. As I mentioned we could not afford both, this was a pipe dream some preferred to belief. IMO Aouar would have been transformational as we would have been able to adopt and inverted triangle in midfield to press higher. But Partey is a pragmatic enough move which gives us a firmer base in a more traditional triangle (likely) and someone who can still carry for us and add forward threat (something we have lacked) Likely our midfield options may include now Ceballos pushed into the AM advance… Read more »
From a business POV, I think this is a bit of a mixed result and betrays the relative inexperience of the transfer team. 1) We were mucking around on Aoaur and Lyon if we could afford to throw 45m into Partey but were tabling 32m then 36m on Aoaur whcih eventually turned the player and club off andout of contention. 2) We then had to scramble to bring someone in and eventually decided to revisit on Partey triggering the release clause which meant we did not have to parlez with Simeone and AM (pissing them off for the future) But… Read more »
Great notes you made here and they are very apt.
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.
In terms of team : …………………………………..Laca/Nketiah………………………………………. Auba/Saka……………………………………………………………..Willian/Pepe ………………………………..Ceballos/(Ozil)……………………………………….. …………………Granit/Willock…………….Partey/Elneny………………………. Tierney/(AMN)………………………………………………………..Bellerin/Cedric ……………………..Magalahes/Mari…..Luiz/Holding…………………………….. ………………………………….Leno/Runarsson……………………………………. Then there is Martinelli returning next calender year.Prob will compete on either left flank or up top depending on injury issues then. Nelson may be off on loan to develop. Saliba questionable too. Again proving to be an expensive buy for a developing player. Hope is he will pay back sooner than later. Chambers and Mustafi as I mentioned on the mend unlikely to sell. Prob hard to secure loans too and may attempt to offload in Jan with no guarantees or loaned out thereafter. Sokratis still around… Read more »
If the addition of Partey to our midfield enables Arteta to use Xhaka in much the same way that the Switzerland national team use him, then we’re in for a real treat.
A player I have liked whenever I have seen him play and a real statement of intent by Arsenal. Let’s hope it is a marriage made in heaven.
Welcome Thomas :))
I am happy that we signed someone but is this what we actually needed. I am sure that he is an upgrade to xhaka and eleneny but we are not creating enough chances.
We played hide and seek with lyon for so long and it made Aouor change his mind. Surprisingly we never had a backup plan for creative midfielder.
I hope our club can find some mutual grounds with ozil to get some creative spark otherwise our best creative player is 19YO Saka.
It might not solve our creativity issue, but I’m hoping Partey playing as an enforcer would free up Xhaka to do his thing further upfield.
Also hoping Willian and Ceballos puts in a shift at making things happen.
We make do with what we have now! Up the Arsenal!
Disagree, I think this goes a long way to fixing our creative issue. Our issue has been we basically have to by-pass midfield to go forward and always force it wide because we have no one that can carry the ball forward in possession. We have that now. A player that can beat people in the middle of the pitch (but also recover quickly to get back and stop counters) has been lacking some time. Beating guys and getting in behind them opens space, and space means better attacking opportunities, and it also increases our tempo. Auba, Willian and Pepe… Read more »
Every time we make a signing or link to a mfer we always assume it’s to replace Xhaka but,I have come to realize no matter the manager Xhaka is always a mainstay in the team. It’s like managers just love him in the team. So I will say it now, whatever formation MA chooses to play Xhaka will b the first name in that midfield and that Party is brought in to complement Him and not to replace.
Partey is an infinitely better player than Xhaka. You may find that, in the fullness of time, Xhaka will be playing second fiddle to Partey – especially if we sign a decent attacking midfielder next summer.
Humble pie is very tasty for transfer pessimists (like me). Thank you Arsenal
Also thanks for making a joke out of the cunt Simeone
Can we just appreciate that this guy left a Champions League club for us too, which shows that we’ve still got it in terms of pulling power, and he obviously is convinced that we’re on the right track to get back to the CL as well. Such a big statement and after Auba’s contract extension and the new additions in defence, I think we’ve got ourselves a strong first team!
At this point there’s no shame in bringing back Ozil. He will complete this team. He and the club just have to settle their differences and Arteta has to look for a way to get the best out of Ozil, the talent is there for everyone to see and yet it’s just wasting. The club knows it, Arteta knows it even Ozil himself knows it that’s why he’s not bothered cus he knows his worth. I think at this stage Arteta and the club need to sort out their differences and see how they can integrate him into the team.… Read more »
Well said.
Ignore the thumbs down. They’re the very people who’ll soon be moaning because Partey will play like a defensive midfielder (which is exactly what he is) rather than an attacking midfielder.
This is a great signing, which could transform Arsenal as an attacking force. However, the situation with the backup goalkeeper is a concern and it is unclear how well Runnarson will cope if Leno gets injured. You only have to look at the Villa result against Liverpool to see what can happen when the second choice keeper is not near the same standard. Lets hope it does not come back to bite us.
Didn’t you notice the rest of the Liverpool team playing like they were from the Conference? He was the last line of defence in a defence that had no lines. If Everton can beat Liverpool in a fortnight’s time I think we’ll see a more fragile Liverpool this season than we were expecting. The team failed the other night, not the keeper.
Still buzzing ? Alexa.. play Atmosphere by Russ Abbot again ?
By my reckoning, we have 19 non-homegrown senior players & that’s 2 above the PL limit of 17. Unless we sell/loan any to Championship clubs (seems unlikely) we are going to have to leave two senior players out of the Pl squad (until the January window).
Who do people think we will drop from the squad? Sokratis? Maybe Martinelli, as he’s injured till the end of the season? Dare I say Ozil?!
I’m excited by the Party & Gabriel signings either way, but interesting how we squad manage.
I’m being stupid! Martinelli counts as a junior player. We still have 19 non-homegrown seniors though.
And he is only injured until the end of the calendar year, not the end of the season
Sokratis/Ozil/Mustafi/Soares/Mari? 5C2
Maybe a loan for Saliba and one of the above.
Saliba is u21, so doesn’t count anyway
Hey Arseblog… How about doing a complete redo of yesterdays Arsecast. A “Partey on”-edition. Listened to the Arsecast this morning and it really sooo much fun hearing your analysis and frustrations. (sort of like an echo from a dystopian alternate reality where Kroenke did not back Arteta and Edu did not know what he was doing) By the way… I REAAAALY love you guys
Yeah, big thanks for making this signing happen!
haha
Top post Adam.
I’d just like to echo his praise for the excellent, informative and highly entertaining Arsecast Extra. The wife and kids will sometimes ask for the latest edition if we’re on long journeys in the car – it provokes a lot of good discussion and the kids love Blogs and James’s humour. We have even had a go at taking it in turns to make up our own Magpies song!?
Thanks again and keep up the great work. ?
Leno
Belli – holding – gabi – tierny
Ceba – partey
Saka
Pepe – Auba – willian (martinelli)
Well, on paper at least, that’s a good side.
If you eventually replace Holding with Saliba, Ceballos with a new world class CM and Willian with Martinelli, you then have the makings of a side that could confidently challenge for the top four.
Let’s hope that Arteta is given the backing in the summer to sign that new world class AM.
An excellent addition to the squad as he brings a skillset that the squad clearly lacks and so evidences the intent of Edu and Arteta to address the glaring squad imbalance in the rebuild process.
Not wishing to be negative here, but I’m just wondering how many yellows and reds he’ll pick up just for having the audacity to have a canon on his chest, thanks to the various collective of cunts, knobheads and twats that masquerade as refs nowadays – not to mention our old mate VAR.
Oh well, a nice ‘problem’ to have, rather than not having the player at all.
Looking forward anyway to seeing him bulldoze his way through a few challenges and leaving an opposing player or five flat on their backsides.
It’s funny to still see anti-Kroenke comments from “fans”. Honestly, when stuff like this Partey transfer happens we just need to show some gratitude where it’s due. They’ve put together an excellent front-office and are on the right track it seems, so if you’re not on board at this point why are you even here. You’re not even a real Arsenal fan.
You do realise that even in the highly unlikely event that Kroenke has contributed any external monies to finance that transfer, he has, in all probability, added it to the club’s debts. Debts that still include paying off the Emirates stadium, thanks to his hitherto policy of contributing the princely sum of fuck all. A club like Arsenal Football Club should be actively investing in the squad as we have as a matter of course – it shouldn’t be viewed as some kind of miracle that we have to get down on our hands and knees and worship the Almighty… Read more »