Arsenal Fans, It’s Partey Time!

The past few weeks of the transfer window had felt anticlimactic.

Us Arsenal fans had yearned for a new midfielder, but we’ve finally got our man! They left it late, but the club mustered up the £45m needed to activate Thomas Partey’s release clause, and he is now officially an Arsenal player.

The Ghanaian has signed a four-year contract with the club, that will  see him earn £250k-per-week including bonuses, with the option of a further year. Meanwhile, Lucas Torreira has moved the other way on loan to Atletico Madrid.

Is it a coincidence that the news of Arsenal’s late move for Partey broke shortly after the club released iconic mascot Gunnersaurus? Maybe so. In all seriousness, the 27-year-old is a player we have long been interested in, with the only question being whether we’d be able to pay the full release clause. According to The Athletic, Arsenal had watched Partey play on more than 20 separate occasions over the last two years.

After the disappointing news that the club had failed in their pursuit of Lyon’s Houssem Aouar, this news feels even sweeter. It sounds cliché to say at this point, but make no mistake about it: Partey is the type of all-action, powerful, box-to-box midfielder that the club has been missing since Patrick Vieira.

I’d argue this signing has single-handedly bumped up our 2020 transfer window grade from a solid B to a spectacular A, and it could very well propel us towards a top-four finish.

Partey’s ball-winning, ball-carrying, and distribution are all at an elite level, and yet his intangibles may be equally important. Edu has remarked that “he is a leader on and off the pitch and he is exactly the kind of player and person we want at the club,” while Mikel Arteta added that he’s “very impressed with his attitude and his approach to the game”.

It will be interesting to see if Arteta sticks with a three-at-the-back formation or transitions to a 4-3-3, with Partey bringing both stability and dynamism to the midfield. But regardless of the system deployed, he will ultimately be one of the first names on the team sheet once he is settled in.

Partey will now be away on international break, and I suspect his first appearance for us could come in the Europa League; Arsenal have fixtures against Rapid Wien and Dundalk coming up before the end of October, which could provide an opportunities to ease in our new man.

I would say be excited, Arsenal fans.

BONUS: 3 Possible Arsenal Thomas Partey Songs/Chants

1. Beastie Boys – (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Partey!)

This is the most obvious, but could become a fitting anthem for the Ghanaian, as Arsenal battled to secure his signature in the 11th hour, and he will hopefully be fighting for us on the pitch for many years to come.

2. Eddie Murphy – Party All the Time

We all want to watch Thomas Partey, all the time.

3. Michael Scott (The Office) – Ain’t No Party like an Arsenal Partey, cause an Arsenal Partey don’t stop.

Sub in Arsenal for Scranton, and it’s a perfect fit.