Speaking recently on The Athletic’s Headline podcast, James McNicholas discussed Arsenal’s deal to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder, Thomas Partey, and why the club left their move until transfer deadline day.
After graduating from the Atletico U19 side, and then the Atletico B side, Partey went on to feature 188 times for the club’s first team, chipping in with 16 goals and providing 12 assists along the way.
Last season, the £36 million-rated 27-year-old highly impressed for the LaLiga side, scoring three goals and averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.08 over his 35 league appearances, as well as scoring one goal and providing one assist over his eight appearances in the Champions League, over which he averaged a WhoScored match rating of 7.55.
It would appear his performances caught the eye of Mikel Arteta, who was reported to be keen on bringing the Ghana international to the Emirates Stadium during the summer transfer window.
And, the Spaniard eventually got his wish, with the north London side landing Partey in a €50 million (£45.3 million) deal on transfer deadline day.
The timing of the midfielder’s move to Arsenal was one topic of conversation on The Athletic’s Headline podcast, with McNicholas shedding some on why the club left the deal so late.
He said: “I think the real reason is simply because they can. With the player having a release clause, this was always a possibility. Throughout all Arsenal’s transfer business in this window, they knew that if they wanted to go back to Partey, they could at any point – if they were willing to pay the €50 million release clause. Obviously, they’ve done that on the final day.
“He [has] always been a top target for Arsenal, right through the summer. Him and Houssem Aouar, who obviously they tried for last week, [they placed] a couple of bids [but] it fell through at the weekend, they didn’t get the deal done, and that meant they were able to funnel the resource into this bid for Partey.”
Are you pleased the club signed Partey rather than Aouar?
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TIF Thoughts…
From McNicholas’ comments, it is clear that the journalist is of the belief that, following the club’s failed bids for Aouar, the club then decided to turn their attention back to Partey, and managed to get a deal done just in time.
So, following the international break, Arsenal fans can look forward to seeing their new man in action for the club, and with an away clash at Manchester City up next for Arteta’s side, his potential debut couldn’t get much more challenging than a trip to last season’s league runners up.