Arsenal are facing the prospect of losing a first-team star to Barcelona in the coming months, following a 'life-changing' start to the season for the player in question.
It wouldn't be the first player to move from the red side of North London to Catalonia. Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars became the first couple to, early in Arsene Wenger's reign, before the likes of Alexander Hleb, Thomas Vermaelen and most notably, Cesc Fabregas all made the same move later on.
With William Saliba linked with Real Madrid, too – and Gabriel Jesus rumoured to be close to an exit – Arsenal could face big changes to their squad, as manager Mikel Arteta looks to keep the core of a team together who could challenge for silverware over the coming years.
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Barcelona had a quiet summer, all in all. This was a necessity, due to the financial restrictions at the club, with Dani Olmo their only significant signing.
The Blaugrana are already planning for next summer, however, and have identified that midfield is an area of concern. With Marc Bernal injured right now – ranked 11th in FourFourTwo's most exciting teenagers in the world list for this season – much of the burden has fallen on fellow La Masia graduate, Marc Casado.
With this in mind, targets are being drawn up for next summer. One of which, is Arsenal star Thomas Partey, according to Spanish outlet Relevo.
The report states that the Ghanaian “changed his life” over the summer to return to fitness for the Gunners, starting the season alongside Declan Rice in Arteta's midfield. Partey has recently been linked with Juventus, too, ahead of his contract expiring next summer.
“Barcelona made it clear in their planning for this season that signing a central midfielder was key,” Relevo writes. “However, three conditions appeared that changed the situation.
“The first was Marc Bernal, [who] won [manager] Hansi Flick over in preseason and did not need too many games to become a starter. The second, Marc Casado, emerged in the summer, alongside him and has continued to grow in [Bernal's] absence.
“And the third is that, despite the appearance of [Bernal and Casado], Flick did not consider it key that [to incorporate] a conventional pivot. Thomas [Partey, however] is a multi-purpose midfielder who, at first glance, may seem like a good option for the Barça midfield.”
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The report goes on to state that Partey's ability to play at right-back is another positive for the No.5, who began Arsenal's last win against Southampton inverting into the centre of the park. Partey has been a consistent starter for Arteta, however, this season, with the report stating that he is back in favour now that he has regained fitness.
Despite this, it would appear that Arsenal would be open to letting the player go. Arteta has already set conditions to let the player leave in the past, with his asking price said to have been slashed last year to find a suitor.
Thomas Partey looks likely to leave Arsenal next summer
In FourFourTwo's view, Arsenal should be looking at letting Partey leave next summer. Even though they will not recoup any of the money they would receive for the 31-year-old, it would free up a lot of money on the wage bill, with the Ghanaian's salary believed to be one of the highest at the club.
Declan Rice is likely to be Arsenal's long-term No.6, with recent addition Mikel Merino also capable of playing the role. Jorginho is also out of contract next summer, with academy prospect Myles Lewis-Skelly coming through – but with Partey's consistent injury issues, he simply cannot be relied on.
Partey is worth €18 million, as per Transfermarkt. In almost five years at Arsenal, he has played just 102 league games.
