Arsenal’s important midfield transfer rests on Thomas Partey decision

Thomas Partey Has Trust From His Manager and the Fans

While this is all being played out in the open and plenty of the links this window may have little to no legitimacy, the Locatelli and Bissouma ones have been concretely reported.

What that can allude to is that Arteta has unwavering faith in Partey. Based off of the responses to many of the links in question, it also demonstrates a great deal of faith from the supporters for what Partey can do.

Especially after a season where, and let’s not sugarcoat it, Partey was mostly disappointing.

There were dashes of his superior quality – when he took to the turf against Rapid Vienna in his first start the gulf in class between him and the other midfielders hit home like a steam train – intermittent with some wasteful outings.

The £45m fee will always weigh heavy and increase the demand for price-worthy performances but he was someone who if you took out of the team it was evident what was missing. Topping the charts in the squad for tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes, successful pressures of the ball, ball recoveries and tackles won, his value to the engine room was unmatched.

And depending how it’s framed, this summer is more about finding Partey’s partner than it is replacing Xhaka. Yet because so many different profiles can work, it’s evidence of how versatile he is.

If Arsenal were to head down the Premier League experienced route then this writer would love to see Kalvin Phillips. Is he the only player who could come in to Arsenal and improve the level? Absolutely not, and a lot of that comes down to Partey’s own ability. The amount of ‘perfect’ options available is largely linked to the player these potential arrivals will play with.

However, it still means that Arteta will need to narrow down who it is that he is after: does he want the energetic combativeness of Bissouma or the silky, technically versatile grace of Locatelli?

Whatever he opts for it’s arguably the most important transfer of the season. What he can be sure of though, is that the man he has to his side can fulfill his own duties.