ESPN pundit Gabriele Marcotti has been discussing Arsenal’s deadline day capture of Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid and lifted the lid on why he is not as excited as some following the £45m signing.
Mikel Arteta’s side were linked with a move for the Ghanaian throughout the transfer window and on the final day, they finally made their move, winning the race against the clock to get the deal completed prior to the window’s closure.
Marcotti however, isn’t convinced that this signing is as exciting for the club as his colleague Julien Laurens, who described the acquisition of Partey as a “wonderful signing”. Here is what he had to say:
“I’m not quite as excited as Jules is, especially when I juxtapose it with his age, when I juxtapose it with the fee.
“Is he a better option than [Mohamed] Elneny? Sure. But I think it was pretty clear – and I think this is the reason why they waited until the very end to get Partey – that they wanted somebody else. They wanted [Houssem] Aouar and they end up with Partey because Partey is there. Otherwise, it would really make no sense at all to wait until this stage.
“All of a sudden, for me, this team just risks having too many guys who are in their late-20s and on big money.”
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TIF Thoughts…
It’s clear that Marcotti believes Arsenal turned to the 27-year-old having missed out on other targets but even if that is the case, in our view, the Gunners have got themselves a good player with a number of strengths.
According to WhoScored, those strengths include his ability to intercept possession, shoot from distance, dribble, tackle and win aerial duels. As such, we believe he will be an excellent addition to Mikel Arteta’s squad.