Arsenal: 3 transfer targets if Thomas Partey doesn’t work out

1. Denis Zakaria

Maybe it’s that he’s Swiss. Maybe it’s that he’s a long-time teammate and friend of Granit Xhaka, both at Borussia Monchengladbach and at the international level, but I’ve been wanting Arsenal to double dip here for a long time.

Zakaria is about as close to Partey as you can get without getting Partey. He’s got the tenacity to cover a lot of ground, the strength and athleticism to make it worth it and the defensive wherewithal to be the wall in front of the wall. He also has a bit of a forward push, like the other alternatives on this list, but like Partey, if you get Zakaria, the primary reason is for his defensive contributions.

It was just a few years ago that he was actually linked to the Emirates, but was deemed to “raw.” Now that he’s 23, he’s nearing the point in his career where that rawness can start turning into a reliable endproduct, which it is.

The only real downside to him is that he’s not a well-kept secret. His price tag would probably be up there alongside Partey’s and there’s no guarantee, as there’s no news of a similar release clause.