Charles Watts, the Arsenal correspondent for Goal, has called on the club’s ownership to free up the cash to sign both Houssem Aouar and Thomas Partey during this window.
The Gunners have been heavily linked with a move for both recently but it was revealed by Lyon’s president Jean-Michel Aulas on social media, that the club had an official offer for the 22-year-old turned down at the end of last week.
As for Thomas Partey, Mikel Arteta’s side is yet to trigger the player’s €50m (£46m) release clause meaning that there has been no progress with regards to the Ghanaian potentially coming to London.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Watts claimed that bringing in both this summer would transform the side, here is what he had to say:
“If you add Aouar and Partey to this squad, that transforms everything really. It certainly turns Arsenal at least into genuine top-four contenders you would think.
“KSE, [they] will want to make themselves popular, [they] will want to show that they truly are in it to compete and not just to protect their investment and make money on their investment.
“This is the summer to do it, free up that extra cash, so they can get Aouar over the line and pay Partey’s €50m release clause.
“It would certainly make KSE an awful lot more popular than they are right now.”
Do you think it is possible for the club to sign both Aouar and Partey?
Yes
No
TIF Thoughts…
Watts certainly feels as though if Arsenal were to land both players, it would significantly improve the team after they finished eighth in the Premier League last season.
However, given the level of investment that would likely be required to do both deals, it remains to be seen whether that is possible for the Gunners and if so, whether or not the club’s chiefs will sanction it.