Arsenal: How Manuel Locatelli & Thomas Partey would work in midfield

When Mikel Arteta and Edu submitted their transfer plans to the Arsenal board before the end of last season every supporter would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that meeting. What did it say? How many pages were there? Was Manuel Locatelli in there somewhere?

Even those who don’t have to toil through the weekly trials and tribulations of watching Arsenal will have earmarked the midfield as the most important area of the squad to tend to. Mohamed Elneny made 41 appearances last season. Says it all.

As Granit Xhaka prepares to bid farewell along with Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira, reinforcements become essential.

Albert Sambi Lokonga will add depth and become an understudy to Thomas Partey, while Joe Willock may be kept on to offer the more natural box-to-box alternative with an eye for goal. Even in his case, if Arsenal’s low valuation is met he will be moved on.

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Arsenal: How Manuel Locatelli & Thomas Partey would work in a double midfield pivot as Arteta pushes to sign midfielder in summer transfer window

Elneny could well stay as he has two legs and two arms and knows how to keep possession of a football. That area of the pitch is threadbare.

And while Lokonga is the mould of signing Arsenal should be making – young, technically strong, huge upside and resale value – arguably the most important signing Arteta and co will make this summer is who sits alongside Partey in the centre of midfield.

Xhaka, for all his highlighted flaws, provides Arsenal will stability, progression and leadership. Without him the side falls to pieces and while there are a plethora of players who can come in to take his place, be them near replica players or a different ilk of midfielder, they have to be an upgrade.

Manuel Locatelli certainly is.

Profiling a whole range of midfielders this summer who could come in and replace Xhaka, offering similar qualities but with general improvements across the board, the Italian featured high up – if not at at the top – on them all.

With Sassuolo’s CEO claiming Arsenal have made an offer for him, that has been tempered by Goal’s Charles Watts who claims Gunners officials have denied making any bid, although their interest is genuine. It could, however be classic negotiation tactics to get Juventus to pay up.

Naturally, those inside the club would deny making such a move for fear of weakening their position, and with Juventus cash-strapped, it’s a transfer that can’t be ruled out conclusively.

Given the interest is real, Arteta clearly has a plan in place for how his side should look next season, which also means he has a plan for Partey. It’s a partnership that would flourish.

Continued…

How Thomas Partey & Manuel Locatelli Would Work for Arsenal in a 4-2-3-1

It’s an interesting conundrum, if you like, to look at.

Xhaka leaving opens up new opportunities for the midfield, and for Partey. Arsenal can go down the destroyer route with an Yves Bissouma, who can help unlock the Ghanaian in a different manner, with much of the ball-winning and intercepting duties falling to the Brighton man.

While it’s a system that has real potential to unleash Partey more advanced, it bestows a large creative burden on him to be the sole contributor of the pair in the final third.

If the idea was to head down the Premier League experienced route then names like Ruben Neves make sense, albeit not especially glamorous, while Kalvin Phillips, also not ‘glamorous’, brings a wealth of endearing qualities, energy and distribution to the table.

But from all those in Europe to ponder over, few would complement Partey better than Locatelli.

A deal that is still mostly resting on hope at this stage, were the Italian to arrive then supporters would be treated to a balancing act that once perfected could anchor Arsenal for years. It has all the tools to flourish.

From those who’ve tuned in to Sassuolo’s games last season, watched him school a Xhaka midfield at the European Championships, poured over hours of footage of him on YouTube or even a mixture of all three, Locatelli’s distribution stands out among all his qualities. His addition screams ‘possession-based’ football and strongly suggests Arteta’s vision for the side.

First concerns will be that Locatelli is obviously not as mobile as Bissouma. Arsenal need energy in the centre of the park but that can be negated by tempo of thought. Locatelli is always looking to get on the ball, spray passes and move his side up the pitch like Xhaka, but with the additional physical and technical versatility.

While the limitations that held Xhaka back – lack of athleticism and defensive weakness on transition are not quite as prevalent with Locatelli but still not a significant upgrade – the addition of backline pace with Ben White to play alongside Gabriel provides greater insurance on high turnovers and will limit the danger caused. The Italian can still evade a challenge if he needs to or track back to regain the ball, which brings Partey into the fold.

Partey arrived at Arsenal with the scope to play more expansively than he had done at Atletico previously. As a proactive holding midfielder, evading the press and carrying Arsenal into the second phase is where his natural game can come to life.

Like with Xhaka, the pair can play on the angle and allow Partey to retrieve on the half-turn and either release or rampage.

This pipe-dream pair wouldn’t just hand over the defensive and attacking keys to one another. Both can contribute in all three thirds, both can thread a pass into the forward players through the eye of the needle and both can break lines in their own ways. They would complement each other: one to pick out one of his delectable switches and the other to gallop beyond a couple or challenges or make a deep run.

There is flexibility and versatility there to suit. It’d be a great match.

Is there any chance it coming to fruition?

Can Arsenal Sign Manuel Locatelli?

Italian players rarely make the move to the Premier League. The very best of Italy tend to forge their careers in Serie A, much like those from England.

Look at Arsenal, who in their history boast a total of three Italian players. Two of them were goalkeepers, Vito Mannone and Emiliano Viviano, and the other was Arturo Lupoli who made just one Premier League appearance.

AC Milan, Inter, Juventus and the like are the pinnacle of football for most players and the allure of those clubs almost always tends to trump the interest from abroad. Despite Arsenal making their feelings known, whether with a bid or not, if Juventus pay up the money they’ll get their man. Simple as.

The issue for them is they’ve just recorded £275m losses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and are shackled by a wage bill featuring none other than the €31m yearly salary Cristiano Ronaldo picks up.

Can they find the cash reserves needed? It’s stated that they’re only €10m off which is not a great deal, so sales elsewhere will be pushed to the top of the order to find a solution.

There is hope of this coming to fruition. It’s not a lot, but it’s something.

And were Arsenal not to succeed then at least they’re giving it a go. Locatelli would be costing around £70m were he playing in England and his signing would be a real show of intent as Arteta looks to find the perfect partner to sit alongside Partey next season.

Who knows, the 4-3-3 switch could also be in his thinking – there is no better time to start implementing it – in which case Locatelli could play on the left with Partey in the middle and perhaps Bukayo Saka as the right No. 8. That system has huge potential and frees up Emile Smith Rowe on the left, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang through the middle and Nicolas Pepe on the right.

That’s an inviting lineup.

Arsenal are seeing the talent across Europe and making their move. While there is still hope, fans can keep dreaming.