Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that he does not want to sell Thomas Partey in the summer transfer window.
Mikel Arteta has told Arsenal’s official website that Thomas Partey is a very important player for the Gunners.
The Arsenal boss has noted that the £200,000-a-week (Spotrac) Ghana international defensive midfielder could play with Declan Rice in the same team.
Rice moved to the Gunners from London and Premier League rivals West Ham United in the summer transfer window.
Arteta said when asked if Partey will stay at Arsenal: “Yes.”
The Arsenal boss added when asked if Partey and Rice could play together: “Yeah, they can play together and that was in my plans.
“If you want to improve the squad and have more quality, we need players that can play together, but we need players in the same position that have to fight for their places.
“It’s something that we haven’t had over the last few years and we wanted to improve that, and that’s why we brought Declan as well.”
Thomas Partey could be disappointed by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta stance
While Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is eager to keep Thomas Partey in the team, the player himself could be disappointed if he is not allowed to leave.
There has been strong speculation linking the 30-year-old with moves away from Arsenal in the summer transfer window.
On July 1, Football Transfers reported that Partey has directly told Arteta that he wants to leave Arsenal this summer.
The report claimed that the Gunners themselves are open to selling the former Atletico Madrid star if they get a good offer.
CBS Sport reported this month that Partey fancies a move to Juventus despite having interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia.
Yes, Arteta thinks that Partey and Rice could play together, but it would be hard for the Arsenal manager to accommodate everyone in the team.
Let us not forget that Arsenal signed Kai Havertz from Chelsea earlier this summer.
The Gunners have Leandro Trossard and Jorginho as well in the team.
Arsenal do have a very strong squad now, and there is a danger that Partey could lose his place in the starting lineup, even though Granit Xhaka has left.
Partey made 28 starts and five substitute appearances in the Premier League for Arsenal last season.
The Arsenal no. 5 scored three goals in those games.
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