Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Thomas Partey will leave Arsenal this summer.
The Ghana international turns 31 just before the transfer window opens (until then he’s 30, that’s how it works) and only has one year left on the deal he signed back in 2020.
The Gunners were open to selling the midfielder this time last year but struggled to find a buyer and decided before pre-season to keep him on the books. The idea was that Partey and Jorginho would share minutes while Arteta figured out how best to integrate new boys Declan Rice and Kai Havertz.
As it turned out – and really, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise given his fitness struggles since joining from Atletico Madrid – Partey picked up the first of two injuries after three Premier League games and featured for just 15 minutes between early September and the end of February.
While Partey did play 10 of the final 12 matches, all the evidence suggests Arsenal can move on from the £45 million signing without losing too much sleep.
How much of that fee we recoup remains to be seen but even a third of that would represent decent business. There’s talk of Saudi clubs sniffing around, the usual whispers from Istanbul and suggestions Napoli and Juventus like the look of him. So cue rumours of us paying him to leave…
In terms of replacements, the big names being linked are Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi (not for a while, to be fair) and Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes. The former would be cheaper but might need some time to adapt to English football. The latter is oven-ready but a bit of a twat.
One for Edu to think about while he’s marinating his meat this summer.
Inevitable once we re-signed Jorg.
How about that Fofana guy?
Isn’t Mikel keen on Zubimendi?
Zubi would fit a need for a controller/distributor and is at a good age. I’m underwhelmed by his numbers though. I don’t think he’s versatile enough to play anywhere except at the pivot and I would be worried about him defending in open space the same was as Jorgi. It’s a no for me as long as we have Jorginho and Zinchenko at the club.
Yea Zubi doesn’t seem like it to me
We need someone like Partey who is durable and younger
Patino, anyone?
I am only half-joking.
He’s still years away, if he ever arrives.
Thought Pedro Neto was on our radar
Caicedo may be available. The new Chelsea manager may want to sell if vying for success, loool.
That would be something. Let’s get Caicedo and Mudryk in a package deal for 20mil.
In all honestly after seeing how Jorgi and Kai have turned out I think Chelsea would rather self immolate than sell us any more players, it looks soo bad for them.
(which would btw make them the second pathetic London club to self immolate to spite Arsenal in as many weeks, hi Tottenham)
I’m not sure Clearlake care about winning trophies, more about turning Ch*lsea into a cash cow.
The thing with cash cows is you are supposed to milk them for money.
Chelsea’s approach is to pour buckets of cash into the cow until it staggers around aimlessly, and then sack the guy who is trying to make it better.
I don’t think these billionaires are as clueless as we might think. They tend to have a plan to make money. The abnormal spending and amortization was just the first phase.
So what’s Phase 2? I was exhausted hearing about how clever they were with their spending spree, which was nothing more than a very risky, poorly calculated risk. Now that they’ve missed out on CL for even one season, it’s a quick slide to becoming Leeds 2.0. Being a billionaire doesn’t equate to omniscience. You can excel in many areas and be clueless in others, and I don’t think they have fucking clue how to successfully run a PL club.
I’ve had a bottle of wine and would edit “very risky, poorly calculated risk” if I could.
Lol
To your point you may be right, all I know is I’m enjoying their mediocrity.
Shortly after the Roman rulings were announced I told a very annoying and arrogant Chelsea fan I know that “everything’s going to change”. He wouldn’t accept it and insisted they would still be up there and above Arsenal. That was only 2 years ago and look what happened!
Wharton at palace would be a good fit, but he would cost a small fortune, especially after that England call up… however, he’s very much a player that reminds me of arteta when he was at Everton, so likely someone the coaching staff could get more out of, even at his young age.
For the type of players we need to be going after it’s unlikely we get any for cheap.
I reckon we should budget 50mil for a mid, 50mil for a cb, 80 mil for a forward/wide player and 100 mil for a striker.
That doesn’t mean we can’t possibly get better deals but we have to be targeting potential world-class players.
Hmm must be the prices getting the downvotes.
I reckon 295 mil in purchases including a goalie and we should be able to do 145 mil in sales
That’s a net of 150 mil
Apparently we have plenty to spend too so looks doable
As I said this is the time to go big, our VanDyk/Alison moment.
All Arsenal fans have Wenger PTSD when talking bank 😀 We dont like to spend big, we like them gems and the unknown. In all seriousness, that Wharton bloke.. my days, we should be ALL over that kid.
145m in what world? We’d be lucky to get 70m+ for ESR, Reece, Eddie, Tavares, Sambi, Tierney and doubt we’d get more than 15m for TP
Personally I’m still excited to spend the £35m per player I was reliably told we’re getting for Torreira, Maitland Niles and Guendouzi
Lol
But that was when we were crap and over-rated how good our players were. We have better players to sell now.
Eddie – 30m (he’s not 100mil but he’s not shit either)
ESR 30 mil
Ramsdale 30m
Nelson 20m
Partey 15mil
Tierney 15mil
Lokonga 10mil
Tavares 5mil
That’s 155mil
Sorry but that’s fantastical thinking. It makes sense on value in a vacuum but it ignores the salaries and the tax that comes with name recognition and coming from a big club. These guys are all with mega agencies. The PL is on a different planet to the other leagues financially, excepting the elites. If we can sell to a PL club or to an elite then great, but if you’re one of those, who are you really buying off that list, for that price, plus a 6 figure salay? ESR, maybe Ramsdale? Cut those prices by about 50-75% and… Read more »
Fair points.
Let’s see what happens. I’m still hopeful we can sell better this window.
Fofana:
Interesting player. Excellent statistical profile, good age, brings penetrative dribbling and physicality in spades. I like him.
Equal to the best DM on his day…..has to be adequately replaced…does things jorginho and rice don’t have…..all the best
No thanks to Bruno, he’s not the type of character that would fit in to the culture that the club have been building over the last 4 years, and Newcastle likely to want a fortune for someone who has all the mobility of the 32 year old we just extended.
My dude. Look at the take ons, carries and tackles this guy does from minute 3 or so in this comp. You don’t get fouled, win dribbles and win tackles like this if you’re slow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4ml-hFXvdY
You often get fouled when you’re slow on the ball
No you don’t. If you’re slow to the ball you just get dispossessed. You often get fouled when you’re too quick for the defender.
Look at this list. Saka is 4th.
https://www.statmuse.com/fc/ask/most-fouled-player-this-season
Where is he on the list of unconscionable bellends ?
Pretty close to the top of that list too. Proper footballer though.
My issue with him is more one of temperament on the pitch in terms of the pace of the game. Newcastle’s style is a lot like Liverpool, they run and gun all game. At Arsenal he’d be asked to play a more measured game and I’m not sure he can play that way and still be himself. I feel like he’s fueled by the heat of combat but Arteta’s approach can feel more like a glacier, inevitable and immovable. From a profile/skills and need perspective though I can’t think of too many better fits for our single pivot. Very durable… Read more »
He’s a very good player and someone that was on our radar before he signed for Newcastle. He’d be a great signing for us.
Everybody’s a prick when they play for the other team. My work colleagues regularly tell me how “unbearable” Arteta is, lots of people find Klopp infuriating but any scouser would go to war for him. He’s a brilliant footballer and that’s all that matters.
Yep, I thought Arteta was pretty nasty when he was at Everton, loved him at Arsenal though.
Hypocrites aren’t we?
Hmm bit of a mix feeling on this. On his day, he is unstoppable. His progressive pass esp on saka side was obvious. Hope we find a better replacement. Joginho should be able to cover until whoever comes in and slowly blend into the team.
If we’re offered £10m or less it would be madness to sell him.
Think we’ll get more? Along with Eddie, Viera etc get what you can, with Edu we will probably pay them to leave
Inevitable we’ll try and sell given his injury record, but I disagree that we can just dispense “without losing too much sleep”. A fit TP is an incredible asset to the team and I would argue was instrumental in sustaining our late season run when he came back into the team. Whoever replaces him will need to be of similar level of capability.
Came here to say the same thing. Easily the best midfield at the club is TP, Rice, Ode. Losing Granit last season messed up the midfield balance for the run to Xmas and ultimately that’s when the title was lost. Next season to win the league we will need the engine room to be firing from the beginnign
I think I’d prefer to go with Zubimendi. I know nothing about him, but read a glowing report on the Athletic about him last month.
Plus, for the first time in a long time, we’re twat free! Let’s not ruin that.
we haven’t had a twat in the squad for at least 2-3 years surely, who was our last twat?
There was that time we almost signed Vardy. Van Persie was a great twat. Adebeyor, Bendtner. And I believe the rest of football now considers Benjamin White to be a twat.
Benjamin White, evil genius, but never a twat
It shows some greatness of mind to avoid wasting your time on International football. The standard is Championship level at best.
Xhaka?
Definitely not a twat
How dare you, Granit Xhaka is the epitome of the twat redemption story. He’s a redeemed twat which is to say no longer a twat.
I think Aubameyang was our last one… unless you count Balogun who showed some twatiness on his way out the door.
Omari Hutchinson
Who?
What twatiness did BAlogun show?
Just not being willing to stay and fight for his place, thinking after 1 good season in the French league he deserved a guaranteed starting spot at Arsenal
There was a time where Xhaka was definitely considered a twat by Arsenal fans…
Bruno is the sort of player you hate until he joins your club. I’ve no concerns about that just he lack of athleticism personally but he is really good nevertheless.
Guendouzi? Pretty tame I guess although his comments to Maupay were very twattish.
In his defence, getting any message across to Maupay does require you to be fluent in twat.
Depends on how you see it. Lokonga, mad at his national coach for not selecting him and even having considered leaving Arsenal because he wasn’t getting enough minutes. Now he is shown the door at Arsenal and will not play in the Euro.
To paraphrase Mourinho, “who is Sambi Lokonga?”
(Remind me, someone — who was that Jose was talking about?)
To paraphrase most of the world these days, “who is Mourinho?”
I absolutely love the discourse this comment spurred. Pure arseblog.
For me, the last card carrying twats were Aubameyang and Martínez, though I don’t recall who left first. I also find it noteworthy how Arsenal definitely seemed to be the dam holding the twat back.
David Bentley is a that.
Exactly this. Zubimendi is a hybrid of Rice and Jorgi. Duel monster and deep laying playmaker. He is not the speediest but agile and can use both feet effectively.
I don’t want Bruno G anywhere near this team. Bellend and a card waiting to happen. He also doesn’t have the grit when things aren’t going his way.
He wouldn’t fit into this group at all.
This, especially the card magnet part. If you consider what he’s got away with this season, and imagine what would happen if he played for us
Thoughts on Amadou Onana? He’d be a beast when shoring up a lead and at set pieces…
To me he just looks like a destroyer. He has nothing of the incisive passing Partey had.
I’ve been very impressed with him whenever I’ve seen him play.
But have to admit that’s because he moves like Vieira. He has that sort of lolloping, long legged yet graceful stride and turn.
He may not actually be any good, just meets the ‘is he like Vieira’ tick box with which I judge all midfielders*
*so this is what it’s like to be ruined for other men.
I honestly don’t get the Onana hype. Big body, rangy, but nothing special with the ball at his feet. Kind of and underdeveloped Fellaini without the goals. Links to us smell like agent propaganda to me.
Links made more sense before we signed Rice as a backup option in case that didn’t pan out but now he’s totally the wrong profile for what we need (controller/distributor).
Onana would be a very expensive backup to kai havertz if we bought him, as Everton are broke and have very few sellable assets (pickford, onana, calvert-lewin, branthwaite).
It’s very difficult to properly judge the suitability of any Everton player when then play Dyche-ball.
Braithwaite by all accounts is a very promising central defender but how do you really know when they play a deep line with 3 giant lumps in front of him?
I’m with you, great athlete, not sure about his footballing skills.
Not the quality we’re looking for I think – just compare him to prime Partey
His passing range is good but he does have a tendency to dawdle on the ball and give turnovers in dangerous areas. And getting caught out of position because of fitness/stamina.
A beast when he was fit. Up there with the best.
But whether the game has moved on/found him out or he just got too old/stop start, the last few weeks have shown us what he is now. Not CL final level.
Thanks for (some 🤞) of the memories Partey. Time for both of us to move on
You could see in his recent matches that the talent is still there, but the legs are not. I can understand the passing errors after a long break, but he cannot recover when chasing back.
Without the injuries, Thomas could have been a really great Arsenal player.
Yeah, this is a big decision, it has been great having him play over the last 6 weeks and you can see what he brings, but just not consistent enough due to injuries. With this announcement though we have a GAPING hole in midfield. It makes a midfield signing an absolute must and likely top priority. I would have liked to see us sign a really promising player that can come in and hopefully usurp Partey by the end of the season, but now we need a world-class level #6 or another versatile #6/#8 (like Rice) – absolute must.
Neither Bruno or Zubimendi can recover when chasing back either though. Clearly not what we’re looking for if those are the players we’re being linked to.
If my aunt had a moustache, I’d call her my uncle.
This is my favourite arsenal player. Sad to see him go, but iv accepted its probably time. I hope he doesn’t go revive one of our rival’s struggling midfields. Saudi Arabia please.
It shouldn’t matter where he goes, merely that the price is what we want. The team have moved past the player and it’s time for someone more versatile and mobile (and with a better injury record).
All went a bit quiet about his ‘off the field’ issues, but I always wondered whether that was part of the lack of availability?
If that has all been resolved he might miraculously now be fit?
This is no big surprise.
Partey is almost 31 and has an horrific recent injury record. He was never going to be offered a new contract and so it’s best to sell him now. The problem will be trying to find a buyer. We may have to more or less give him away.
And the other problem will be finding a replacement.
Good luck, Mikel.
But El Neny got his contract extended last season. A player often injured who plays 12 games a season compared to the nice chap who spends time on the bench and plays around 55 minutes in three games.
We have to be ruthless. We can’t afford to waste precious wages on players that don’t contribute.
The priority this summer has to be to strengthen the squad to the maximum.
My preferred option to replace him is Frenkie de Jong. After that, it’s Bruno G. After that, it’s Douglas Luiz. None of those are easy deals to do but I’d be looking for someone with that kind of skill set: high volume and accuracy short passer, above average physicality, has a killer pass in him. Bruno is an assassin from deep areas, and that’s something we lack in the squad especially once TP goes. He also ran more Km than any other player in the PL. We hate him now because he can be a dirty player but if he… Read more »
Bruno is slower than a turning battleship.
Strange comment to make about the player who logged the most distance run in the whole league this season. Where has this narrative come from? I can understand hating him because he’s a bastard but he’s no slouch.
Hell no, none of those three are arsenal type players!!!
If you don’t think Frenkie de Jong screams Arsenal, I don’t know what to tell you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7rh84RGtzc
I would love Frankie De Jong. Would Barca sell? He would be awesome for us.
De Jong and Wirtz and we are talking about EPL fair n square
If Mikel decides he’s the one and we get him, I’ll trust the process welcome him with open arms. Yes, he’s something of an bastard, but he’ll be OUR bastard.
Something that I don’t think I’ve seen really mentioned much is Partey went from his best season for us fitness wise last season (22/23) to his worst this season (23/24). Think it was 30 league starts down to 15. That’s probably why we were open to but not desperate to sell last summer.
Idk if someone else noticed this but Partey seemed to have lost a lot of mobility since the injury. I remember atleast 3 seperate occasions where he lost the ball or we were being countered and players were just running past Partey.. This is the same guy that beat Antony (quiet in the back) in a footrace while the Brazilian had a 10m headstart. There would always be a what if with Partey if he wasn’t injured but think the squad needs someone fresher and Partey unfortunately is not getting faster or less injury prone with time. Zubi on the… Read more »
This is great news. I like Partey, but he has too many injuries, he is 30+, and I always say he holds the ball too long sometimes and it gives the opponent to steal the ball and hit us on the counter. Time to move on and improve our team. Wish him the best!
Bring in Joshua Kimmich,and dont sell Lokonga
Kimmich would be a dream.
I was reading your list above of the 3 you’d prioritise, and I was going to come back to it and ask where you’d put kimmich on that list… A year ago I’d not have given us a chance of signing him, but given Rice could have joined city and chose us, I’m not ruling it out even with likely city interest… If we got Kimmich then we’d see rice at left 8 – and I think MA sees rice in that position provided we can get a suitable 6 – so whilst a forward may be seen by some… Read more »
You nailed it!
I didin’t include him because he’s played a lot at RB and seems like a longshot to come to us, but stranger things have happened.
Why keep Lokonga?
He needs to play and we need better.
Quinton Timber could be a midfielder worth considering, he’s just had a very effective season for Eredivisie champions Feyenoord.
I would be astounded if we can sell him.
This has Saudi transfer written all over it!
Yup. I still think he’ll see his contract out.
Who would offer enough to buy him then match the wages he’s due from us next season? If we sell him we’re going to be getting nothing out of it financially.
If we can’t get decent money for Partey, I’m inclined to keep him essentially as our Elneny replacement. We need an extra midfielder if we want to have deep domestic cup runs.
200k per week!
That’s my annual package.
Agreed, if were going to take a financial hit on him might as well keep him as an emergency option. Yes he’s on high wages but having him as our 5th or 6th midfielder isn’t the worst idea.
it shouldn’t have come as a surprise given his fitness struggles since joining from Atletico Madrid
He played 33 PL games in 22/23. It was definitely a surprise that he missed so much football this season.
Buy:
GK2
CB
DM
AM
ST
Sell:
Ramsdale
Nketiah
Nelson
Partey
ESR or Vieira (not both)
Lokonga
Tavares
Tierney
(Let go Cedric & Elneny)
Promote:
Nwaneri
If only transfers were so simple
Priority is a smooth ball progressing CM who can create from deep areas and destroy those mid block setups that stifled us at times last season but is not a liability without the ball. We have Jorginho but we need more than that. I might actually double dip in this category; one player in his prime and one up and comer to send out on loan.
Not ESR or Vieira for me. Those guys can be game changers and should be trusted more.
My only disagreement is that buying players to send out on loan is not a priority. Sure, if a great opportunity for a young player arises let’s do it.
However, this is our most important window yet. We have to go big to cement ourselves as top dog in the PL. Or at the very least keep up with 115 because they will look to improve as well.
Didn’t mean to imply that buying a prospect in the position is a priority, but a player in his prime in that area sure is. One of the themes of our worst performances of the year is that Declan Rice started as a single pivot. He hasn’t been seen in that role in 2024. He can take care of the ball and pass it with accuracy, but what he doesn’t do is break the lines with it. If you want to be a top ball dominant team that plays a single pivot, that pivot has GOT to be able to… Read more »
Well that I certainly agree with.
I don’t agree with that, Rice played as the 6 in our 6-0 and 5-0’s wins against Crystal Palace, West Ham & Burnley. I think we have a couple of issues, firstly at the beginning of the season we squeezed the game into such a small area of the pitch we suffocated our attacking play. Secondly i think there’s more of a problem when we play Havertz at 8 than Rice at 6 as Havertz isn’t a playmaker, so we lose that creativity. The question is whether we need that creativity at 6 or 8, I think we probably need… Read more »
Some good thoughts here. Important to note that in many of the games where it looks from the lineup graphic that Rice is a lone pivot, he’s not. He’s actually part of a midfield two with Odegaard playing as a shuttle next to him in a 4-2-4 shape, notably in the big wins against West Ham and Burnley. Dropping Odegaard deeper gave us more incision from those deeper areas and was a new wrinkle for those teams, and freed up Saka a bit more, plus the fluid interchange of Trossard and Havertz at the top left them chasing shadows. I… Read more »
It’s going to be interesting to see the evolution of the side next season.
Whilst our game evolved last season with Rice at left 8, my feelings are still that he was brought to play 6 and replace Partey.
Obviously our transfer dealings will ultimately decide the direction we go in i personally would like to see more decisive passing from that left space in midfield. Since selling Xhaka and transitioning away from Zinchenko at left back i think we’ve lost the balance on that side of the pitch.
Perhaps Zinchenko in the left 8 is the answer?
Just don’t like the idea of selling Ramsdale. We were many thinking Rammy shouldn’t be sold. As of today, it might only remain myself and the guy by the moniker of RamsdaleMyHero, lol.
Don’t like the idea either but he needs to go and play. We’ll likely make a profit on changing him out too.
Anyone else think that Benny Blanco or Timber could play in the TP5 position? Both have played it before and assuming there is sufficient cover for the RB/LB position could this even work?
I don’t think they fit, besides we are looking for a starter at 6 not a backup, maybe even someone who can become (almost) as good as Rodri.
No, that’s a specialist role that requires a lot of experience to play properly. In a simple setup where you defend deep and then break out from there it’s fine because then you’re basically asking them to defend a small space and then make a simple pass out. In our setup, youd be asking them to control the ball under duress in a high risk area, then turn and find penetrative passes through the lines. You immediately spot the best players in that role because they think 2-3 moves ahead, always scanning, working hard to find spaces to be open… Read more »
Ben white can fill the position nicely. He can distribute defend and convert on set pieces
How about exequiel Palacios from Leverkusen, I thought heh would fit with Arteta’s system
Here’s a novel idea…if Partey is going, why can’t we get a good backup left-back and convert Zinny to a CM?
Nah, he is defensively weak at LB, so moving him into defensively crucial position would be counterproductive at best, especially the way Arteta expects us to defend.
I can see him at LCM for sure.
Thoughts about Onana? I’m not exactly sold, but then again I wasn’t sold on Havertz at the beginning. Just feel we need more physicality alongside Rice especially in the biggest games.
Despite being a twat, I think Bruno G would be an exciting signing for us.
Trouble is Man City will probably offer him an extra 100K a week to go there now that Paqueta has self destructed
I’ve seen rumours on Reddit already that we will pay him to go. Bleeding nuts!
Reliable source
Saw the Pacqueta story, found it funny because I thought it was another Brazilian midfielder playing in the Premier League trying to get deliberately booked. Their home match against Arsenal springs to mind, and he finally gets to the book after spending the whole match trying to get booked. Again, not just this match, many more.
Funnily enough, he is now linked to Arsenal. Surprised that no one ever noticed this.
arsenal won’t sell partey for two reasons. first, the partey/rice/odegaard midfield has potential to be the best in world football. to replace partey would be too expensive and likely wouldn’t be an upgrade. besides, arsenal have to pay for raya and buy a center forward this summer. to try and squeeze a replacement for partey is too much money for this window. second, arteta has grown…meaning he didn’t rush partey back into the side as soon as he returned to full training as he has in times past. medicine and physios can only do so much. some injuries need mother… Read more »
Bruno is a great footballer but has one hell of a punchable face LOL
Yousef Fofana is there its a no brainer has one year left on his contract 17m Euros being touted Forget the Zubimendi crap he won’t cut it in the EPL he will be another Fabio Viera
My only memories of Fofana was just absolutely hating him when we played a friendly against Monaco he just absolutely bossed the midfield he was rather irritatingly good…maybe he was putting himself in the shop window…
Good.
This summer IN: Frenkie De Jong. The ultimate ball progression machine, silky smooth, generational profile, can get to that level if he applies himself. This may be wishful thinking but so much depends on how Hansi Flick evaluates him. If Barca goes out to get Kimmich, it could mean moving on from Frenkie. Not holding my breath but I can dream. Think taller Odegaard with more burst and power. Marc Guehi. Would be another top ball playing CB, reduces reliance on Saliba, makes us a nightmare to press when paired with him. He’s ready made quality who would take no… Read more »
You just made everyone angry with this your summation, Sir
“…but a bit of a twat” 😂😂😂