European giants line up for Arsenal transfer as Edu and Mikel Arteta prepare to make contract decision


Arsenal managed to offload many of their unwanted players over the course of the summer transfer window, balancing their books and reducing the size of their squad following the arrival of three new players in Riccardo Calafiori, Mikel Merino and Raheem Sterling.
The likes of Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale left on permanent deals, while Reiss Nelson, Albert Sambi Lokonga and others departed on loan deals. There are, however, more players who face uncertain futures, beyond this season, with a couple of contract decisions yet to be made.
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Hide AdOne of those involved Thomas Partey, who joined the Gunners from Atletico Madrid for £45million back in 2020, now two league games away from his 100th premier League appearance for the club. Partey has become a real utility man over the last year or so, playing at full-back as well as holding midfield, but it’s no secret that Mikel Arteta wants more from him, especially when it comes to playing with the ball at his feet.
That was likely the reason behind the £30million or so signing of Merino this summer. That signing is not likely to be good news for 31-year-old Partey, whose contract is up at the end of this season. Arsenal must make a decision on the midfielder’s future in the next couple of months, too, with any club outside of England free to agree a pre-contract agreement with the Ghanaian from January 1 as things stand.
Partey transfer interest
In the meantime, CaughtOffside report that Barcelona have shown an interest in signing Partey, as have his former club Atletico Madrid. Saudi Arabian duo Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli are also said be interested in a deal, along with Italian giants Juventus. Crucially, Juve are said to be willing to offer Partey a three-year deal, which would be particularly attractive to the midfielder at the age of 31.
Arsenal could yet begin talks over a new contract, but if they don’t, it seems Partey will have plenty of options from January. And even if the Gunners do offer a new deal, it’s not certain he will accept it if he believes he will be playing a secondary role as expected going forward, at least once Merino is back fit.
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