Arsenal: 3 alternatives to Thomas Partey

2. Matteo Guendouzi

If Arsenal are looking for a more creative, playmaking option in defensive midfield, they might not need to spend any money at all to find one. In fact, in Matteo Guendouzi, the Partey alternative might already be at the club.

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Guendouzi needs serious work. He is ill-disciplined positionally, does not carry the same size and power and Partey, and he can be a liability in defensive phases. He also needs to be more consistent. For instance, he does receive the ball very well, using his body shape to protect the ball or directing his first touch to spin away from pressure. But then, suddenly, he doesn’t. He lets the ball get away from him, he misaligns his body. He simply does not realise the presence of a defender is easily dispossessed in a dangerous area. He has the ability to avoid those mistakes, but the consistency is not there yet.

His underlying statistics, however, paint the picture of an elite-level midfielder who needs a little fine-tuning. This season, he made 6.89 progressive passes, 7.06 passes into the final third, 1.06 passes into the penalty area, and created 0.73 chances, all per 90 minutes. No player in the Arsenal squad makes more progressive passes per 90, while only Dani Ceballos and Granit Xhaka play more passes into the final third per 90. His passing is sublime.

He is also a capable dribbler and ball-carrier. He completes more than two-thirds of his 2.32 dribble attempts per 90 minutes and carries the ball 205.6 yards closer to the opposing goal per 90 minutes, which ranks third in the squad.

Defensively, he is busy, if not always effective. Only Lucas Torreira and Ainsley Maitland-Niles made more interceptions per 90 and only Ceballos, Torreira and Alexandre Lacazette produce more pressures per 90. Guendouzi is far from the finished product. But he only turned 21 last month and has all the talent in the world. Given that he costs nothing, he could be the ideal option for Arsenal to turn to in place of Partey.