It is being reported in the Daily Star that Arsenal are targeting a move for Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey, who is available for £43 Million due to a release clause in his contract.
The 25-year-old holding midfielder is certainly keen on a move to the Premier League based on comments he made last year when he said “The Premier League is a good league, it’s very competitive and has some of the best players in the world. Hopefully, one day. I would like to play there.”
Arsenal is not the only club interested though, Manchester City are also said to be tracking the Ghana international.
So, we have a player that is interested in playing in the Premier League and according to the media, we want to sign him.
Now, how good is Partey and is he a realistic option for us?
The answer to the first question is that he is very good and would certainly be a decent replacement for Ramsey, albeit, in a slightly different position, Partey is more a holding player, whereas Ramsey does like to push forward at every opportunity. If you want to compare Partey to a player he would be more an N’Golo Kante type of player, so he is not exactly a direct replacement for Ramsey but he is certainly a player we should try and sign, he has immense experience, is a regular for Atletico and has his best years ahead of him.
The answer to the second question is, yes, he is definitely a realistic option for us, he will cost £43 Million but that is cheap for a player of his quality and age, we can afford him in my opinion, we may or may not have to offload players, we may have to limit how many players we actually sign, who knows the truth about our financial situation, but what I do know is this, the price for Partey is a bargain and if he really wants to play in the Premier League and if he wants to play for us, we should go for him, simple as that.
Arsenal should not go for another DM like Partey, because they already have Torreira, Xhaka, Chambers, Elneny and Niles that can play well in the holding midfielder position
If they want to sign a midfielder from Atletico Madrid, they had better chase Saul Niguez
Chambers, Elneny and even Xhaka as holding players? Do you want us relegated or something! What a gross lack of ambition you must have for us!
Well if you’re spending that much on a CM, when your transfer budget isn’t that big, then he has to be a first team starter. So Partey would be more of a replacement for Xhaka or Torreira, because Ramsey has been in and out of the team.
Anyway, it’s the Star, so it’s tosh! Central midfield is the least of our worries come the summer, even with Ramsey going. Our priorities should be:
1) WC CB
2) RW
3) LB
4) CAM (depending on what happens with Ozil and Miki)
5) Backup GK (although I’d promote Martinez)
Partey is a fantastic player for Atletico, but AFC
should only be interested in his services if
either Xhaka or Torreria are serious about moving
on this summer( which I highly doubt). The
possible return of CC from Fulham also decreases
the likelihood of this transfer happening.
How your priorities could EASILY become this
REALITY!!
CB— Jonathan Tah (£35-40) May not be in the
class of Koulibay or Umtiti YET but the BL man
has been one of the best CB’s in the Bundesliga
for years and at 23 still has his best years of
futbol ahead of him. Reminds me of VVD at that
age
RW—Malcom( yr loan £10M) There are plenty of
big name wingers available but but sadly the
likes of Pepe, Lozano, Under, Bailey, Zaha,
Costa, etc, are all far to expensive for Emery
and Co. to seriously pursuing this summer.
BARCA have made Malcom available for sale
and if no suitors meet there RIDICULOUS £60M asking price for the Brazilian than a potential
loan deal might be beneficial for both clubs.
Brahimi from Porti on a free is another real
possibility.
LB—-Tierney or Grimaldo (£30M) Both are
fantastic young LB’s for there respected clubs
and either are more than capable of being
Arsenals preferred LB for the next decade
CAM—-Suarez(£18M) if Ozil and Miki stay
Barella(£45M) if Miki and Ozil are sold
Personally I am a big fan of both Miki and Ozil
and honestly believe each has a few more years
of quality futbol left in there respected thanks.
WTS, as far as the state of the club going
forward and Emerys lack of defined
commitment to either player this season if given
the opportunity I truly believe the Spanish gaffer
will move both players along and seriously go
after the precocious young Barella. The Italian
has loads of skill in his locker and has already
earned a number of call ups to the Senior Italy
squad. I see future captain written all over
Barella and would sign him in an instance if
Ozil and Miki move on.
GK—-agree on Martinez being the back up but
if there happens to be some extra cheddar lying around from the summer kitty Nick Pope for
around £15M would be a fantastic signing.
Tah
Malcolm
Kerney
Suarez or Barella
Martinez or Pope
Between £100-140M required investment but
with the possible financial windfall of Champions League and the potential sales of a number of
first team players (Mustafi—£25M, Chambers—£20M, Miki—£15M, El Neny—£10M,
Ospina—£4M) Arsenal could comfortably afford
all of the players listed above and considerably
strengthen the current squad to seriously
compete on all fronts next season.
Xhaka should be sold. His mobility and speed is not up to EP level.
Ok
Only that he’s been our best central midfielder this season
Being our best CM means nothing. Can we do better than Xhaka’s best?
I think we definitely can do better than his best.
Compared to the quality we crave for I don’t think he is anywhere near it.
He can do for now as most of the squad is average. But if we want compete then we can do better.
I agree on the statement, but unless somebody is willing to overpay for him, he’s not a priority to sell at all. We have far more important issues. DM/deeplying midfielders we have enough of currently in Xhaka/Torreira/Guendouzi (even AMN if necessary). Upgrades in defense and replacing holes in CM take priority.
He is tough in the back as a deep-lying playmaker, but I expect a Pirlo-esque playmaker instead of a holding midfielder like Jordan Henderson and Xhaka
Arsenal have AMN who can be that CM, look how well he is doing at RWB which is not his role, he is covering it but he isn’t a RWB.
We could spend that £40 million on Win-Bassaka, freeing up AMN to play in CM.
I rate Win-Bassaka as a tremendous young
talent but Arsenal will never spend that much
money on a player to COMPETE with Bellerin
at RB. With a limited budget imho there are just
to many other critical areas on the pitch that
Emery needs to be address this summer
I wouldn’t mind Wan-Bassaka, but then what do you do with Bellerin? Both would be to expensive for one to be a backup, and you can’t realistically swap them every game. Before his injury Bellerin was doing really well.
That’s the nature of competition though. Bellerin may not be fully fit until half the season is through, and AMN will be our only RB by the time next season comes around. Licht and Jenko both will be gone. Bissaka has more potential than Bellerin does as well. Bellerin hasn’t had competition his entire career at Arsenal. If we do end up buying Bissaka he’ll have to step up. Debuchy also wasn’t a bad RB, but one injury, and Bellerin took over the spot and the rest is history.
I think Bellerin did have competition… but it was with Debuchy. Debuchy should have been a warrior and fought for his spot back but he cried like a baby and ran off, leaving Bellerin undisputed in the RB role.
I recall at the time we bought Debuchy and I was upset that Jenks wasn’t trusted while pointing to Bellerin as being ready, Jenks had done really well covering for Sagna during that prolonged injury he had with us, well enough that I thought he could keep improving…
Getting Debuchy and loaning Jenks out destroyed Jenks, at least, that’s just my opinion.
🙂
I dont remember debuchy crying like a baby. He was out for a long time, and then Bellerin was simply too good to drop, and Debuchy still picked up some more injuries. It was clear he was just not part of the squad at some point, so perhaps thats the point you are referring to, but it was his first injury that side tracked his Arsenal career. Similar thing with Clyne and TAA. You can’t drop TAA because of how good he has been, even though Clyne is a respectable defender himself. As for Jenks, I also think he should’ve gotten a more fair chance. He mustve been bad in training because Wenger simply didn’t make him a viable option at one point.
Completely agree with what’s being said. Wan-Bassaka has more potential, and Bellerin won’t be back until maybe end of the year. Will there be further injuries as a result of Bellerin’s latest one, as has been the case with so many Arsenal players in recent years? With his injury, and Jenkinson and hopefully Lichtsteiner leaving, we won’t have a recognised RB, so we do need someone.
Given that AMN can do a job there (especially in the RWB role), our budget probably won’t be huge, and other positions are more of a priority, I think we’ll just get in an average/experienced player as backup for AMN, until Bellerin comes back. Might even be worth offering Jenkinson a new contract on a much lower wage? He loves Arsenal, and he won’t get what he’s on now at any other club, so the lower wage could tempt him to stay.
“Arsene Wenger signed the France international for a reported 12 million pounds last season as a replacement for Bacary Sagna, who moved to Manchester City.
But the 30-year-old’s first season at the club was disrupted by injury, with problems with his ankle ligaments and a dislocated shoulder limiting him to just 11 Premier League starts.
He has featured just once this season, in the Gunners’ 2-0 loss to West Ham United in their first league match of the campaign, with the impressive 20-year-old Bellerin keeping him out of the side.
The Spanish youngster also received his first call up to the national squad this week.
“It is difficult,” Debuchy told L’Equipe.
“Even if I had not played a lot last season, in my head I would return to start after my recovery.
“But, at the Community Shield against Chelsea, Wenger chose him, Bellerin,” he added.
“It was a surprise and a disappointment. Let’s say it (leaving) crossed my mind …”
He admits that he expected to start once fit and when that didn’t happen, he thought about leaving.
Around this time, UTD came sniffing, Debuchy has said he was upset at Wenger for not letting him join UTD.
““I would have liked to have left Arsenal earlier and to have played for a different club… There were moments when I was angry with the manager,” he was quoted as saying.
“There was an approach from Manchester United and he did not want me to leave.””
Quotes from Debuchy.
I wouldn’t want to go a whole season hoping AMN is good enough to replace Ramsey. And that’s highly doubtful if the only evidence is his change of form the past few weeks in RB position. If Arsenal want to build a frightening squad, AMN as our starting CM isn’t going to be the answer.
“And that’s highly doubtful if the only evidence is his change of form the past few weeks in RB position.”
Why do people refuse to accept that AMN has played CM and he put in such performances that it screamed the question of why we do not use him in CM. AMN, the inexperienced kid, he kept Pogba in his pocket, he has kept Hazard quiet, it isn’t a one time only thing. He has been able to stifle players at will in any role he plays.
If Arsenal want a frightening squad, AMN starting in CM is going to do that.
You can claim otherwise… I’ll keep the good feeling that AMN gets opposition players praising him while gooners slate him.
@Midkemma
Perhaps you felt in someway avenged having got all that off your chest

Try being less stroppy and more considerate with your analysis and to follow the gist when others present arguments before you. i laughed reading your counter response to me although truth told, know that i intend you no harm simply to point some flaws in exchanges between you (et others).
To your acidic response l declined to get drawn into child’s play knowing there are plenty matters raised on Just Arsenal we will see eye-to-eye and easily agree on – it’s simply your outlook on that matter (March 23rd thread) that we didn’t.
*No harm intended, cheers.
“Its laughable when reading Midkemma spouting cliches like “Information is power and power to the people.””
You are the one who mocked me and then I mocked your profession as it is pathetic, IT is the baby step prior to specializing, why would you brag about answering the phone and asking people if they have tried turning it off and on again?
I have spent years learning and I benefit from that now, a IT monkey is like a ball boy to me… But you know what, you keep thinking that I am foolish for believing that knowledge is power, for basically saying the more you learn then the more you are capable of doing.
Yup, I’m a strange fellow and you get upset when the truth is said, your an IT Monkey who isn’t fit to clean my boots.
You seeked me out to insult me, don’t like the consequence? Don’t do it in the first place.
“Your pretend about adhering to revolutionary ideaology with that “we the people” diatribe you’re fooling nobody other than yourself.”
Nope, you are being a moron and assuming too much.
I said what I meant and you couldn’t accept it.
“But you know what, you keep thinking that I am foolish for believing that knowledge is power, for basically saying the more you learn then the more you are capable of doing.” <– I said that at the end of one of my posts, one above, the one you replied to… the one you failed to read correctly.
You are a pathetic IT Monkey that has difficulty reading.
Nothing to do with revolutions.
It can apply to people who wish to get a dream job, learn what you need to learn (gain knowledge) and you will stand a greater chance of getting your dream job. You empower yourself by learning and achieving what you wanted. I want people to get what they want from working, I do hope people can find their dream jobs and enjoy their life, that's what I meant from my statement.
This is the problem with IT people though.
Too dumb to understand anything other than "Have you tried turning it off and on again?".
*No harm intended, cheers.
If he is indeed a holding player , HOW CAN THERE BE ANY SIMILARITY TO RAMSEY? Your comment makes no sense at all.
I don’t know if this is a genuine target or not, but I do feel that we’ll be beginning preliminary talks with our targets during this International break, if we haven’t already picked out one or two before now and started a time back, that is.
Raul sounds like he relies on his contacts to keep things confidential. I believe Umtiti is a genuine target, they’re going for the Dutch youngster, so I believe we will have an advantage on this player. He’s already not making the first eleven, so either way, I feel we have a good chance of success with this one.
We should seriously consider signing Jordan of Eibar as a direct replacement for Ramsay.On the few occasions I have seen Eibar he has been very impressive.The fact that he plays for a fairly average team should not influence the Arsenal scouts.He is a very talented box to box midfielder who would flourish with Arsenal.I believe he is available for under £15m.Party is a physically powerful defensive mid who would be well suited to the demands of the premier league.He is nothing like Ramsay and is rarely seen in the opposition penalty area.
If an idiot is willing to give us 30m for xhaka then absolutely sell him and upgrade to Partey. A more mobile box to box option with a bit more muscle next to Torreira will allow our no.10 to flourish. Plus he can play multiple positions which is always a bonus