Arsenal: 3 better options and 3 worse options than Dani Ceballos

2, Better: Thomas Partey

Thomas Partey is a fantastic solution to almost everything. With a release clause of £45m, the Gunners can’t be gauged for any more than that. They have a price tag, now all they have to do is win him over and our midfield gains arguably the best defensive midfielder out there.

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If you put him next to Granit Xhaka, you have such solidity and presence that I’d stack it up against the best midfield pairings out there.

The one drawback to Partey is that he doesn’t provide much of anything offensively. Neither does Xhaka. So that’s a midfield base with no attacking push, no midfield pivot, which would likely necessitate another signing. That makes things rather pricey.

That said, if were to err on the side of anything, I want to err on the side of more defensive solidity, so if we did only get Partey, it wouldn’t be conclusive, but it also wouldn’t be a risk. And that’s a deal I’m willing to take.

On to the No. 1 option worse than Ceballos.