Arsenal have been chasing a deal for Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo, but those plans may change now Thomas Partey’s AFCON commitments are over.
Arsenal have been left short in midfield of late, which has been a major concern for supporters and Mikel Arteta.
Mohamed Elneny and Partey both headed off to the Africa Cup of Nations, whilst Ainsley Maitland-Niles was curiously sent off to Roma.
Edu has been charged with the task of finding another midfielder for Arteta.
The main target has been £66million Juventus ace Arthur, though Arsenal have been struggling to get a deal done over the last week.
The Daily Mail reported that Arthur wants to join Arsenal, but Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri has been stalling the deal.
With Arthur left in limbo, Arsenal have received an unexpected boost that could rule out a deal for the Brazilian completely.
Ghana were beaten 3-2 by Comoros in the Africa Cup of Nations, bringing an end to their truly dismal campaign.
After starting with a defeat to Morocco, Ghana could only muster a draw with Gabon and were then humiliated by Comoros, finishing bottom of their group.
Two red cards, three goals scored and a manager under huge pressure in Milovan Rajevac, this has been an absolute nightmare for Ghana.
For Arsenal though, this is an unexpected boost – because Partey will now be back available earlier than expected.
Many would have backed Ghana to reach the latter stages of the tournament, meaning Partey would have been gone for a lot longer.
Instead, Partey is now heading back to London and will be back in contention for Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures.
Partey’s early return means Arsenal may not need to push for Arthur’s signature quite so desperately.
A midfielder should still be targeted in the summer, but we may now see Edu back away from Arthur and target a cheaper short-term midfielder if he pursues anybody at all this month.
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