Charles Watts, the Arsenal correspondent for Goal, has been discussing the club’s chances of signing both Houssem Aouar and Thomas Partey during this transfer window on his YouTube channel.
The north London club have been heavily linked with both players for some time now and according to a recent report, Mikel Arteta had identified the Lyon midfielder as the priority target ahead of the Ghanaian. However, according to Mundo Deportivo (via the Mirror), Arsenal could be handed a boost in their interest in Partey given Lucas Torreira wishes to join Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side during this window.
The report claims that the Uruguayan is one of the Atletico Madrid boss’ ‘top’ targets, and that may go some way in softening the club’s stance on Partey. Taking into account all of the above, Watts was asked whether he thought the Gunners could bring both Partey and Aouar in. Here is what he had to say:
“I’ve said it all along, I’d be surprised if they get both; I’m not going to sit here and rule it out because you never know.
“But I still think it is probably on the unlikely side. They might get one, but getting two, that would be party time for Arsenal fans. I’d be surprised just because of the level of investment.”
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TIF Thoughts…
It’s clear from his comments that Watts has doubts regarding whether or not the club would be able to afford the signings of both players this summer. The Gunners have already brought Dani Ceballos back to the Emirates Stadium for another season but with Lucas Torreira seemingly heading for the exit and Matteo Guendouzi being out of favour, having not featured yet this season, it could certainly be argued Arteta needs to strengthen his team in the midfield area.