Thomas Partey has been excellent for Arsenal in the early weeks of this season and is a crucial piece of Mikel Arteta’s midfield jigsaw. This has been epitomised by the influence of the 29-year-old when he is included in the starting line-up.
Arsenal’s likelihood to win a game increases by a large margin when he is playing compared to when he is absent from kick-off. Since his arrival in 2020, he has been an automatic starter under Arteta.
However, his consistent injury issues permit Arsenal from being able to rely on the midfielder. It is for this reason that an alternative option that can offer a similar amount of quality is needed and this could be Edu’s thinking in the Gunners’ pursuit of Ruben Neves.
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According to the Sunday Express, the Gunners are hoping to move ahead of Liverpool and Manchester United in their pursuit of Wolves midfielder Neves. The Gunners are known to be admirers of the Portuguese international after being heavily linked last season.
So far in this campaign, Neves ranks third in the Premier League for the most tackles as he taken the ball from his opponent on 28 occasions. This part of Neves’ game has certainly gone under the radar as he is more known for his on-the-ball-attributes, but it seems that the midfielder has added an extra element to his game.
And this element could be extremely useful for Arsenal as Edu must look to sign more midfield reinforcements. Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey are two players whose place in the team are currently untouchable. Albert Sambi Lokogna and Mohammed Elneny are the two backup players, but their levels in terms of experience and quality do not compare with the two starters.
Neves would be able to bridge the quality gap, and a deal could be easier to complete as Wolves ramped up their transfer business and the midfielder is yet to sign a new contract with his current deal expiring at the end of the next season.
The midfielder spoke about a potential transfer in the previous window and said: "There are no secrets with that. I had a chance to go, I didn't go, and I stayed, and I will give 200 per cent for this club because they have given me a lot."
Neves’ contract is reaching a precarious stage where Wolves will have to accept losing the player for a cut-price fee or accept the fate of losing him on a free transfer. This is an opportunity that Arsenal can look to pounce on.
Recently sacked Wolves manager Bruno Lage has never hidden his admiration for the 24-year-old and even recently claimed that he could be worth up to £100million this summer. Speaking to our sister title Birmingham Live, he said: "I don't know if it's Man Utd or other teams. What I know is we have a special player here with us.
"When you have that player, the best thing to do is improve his salary and years of contract. But who knows, when you have a top player like him in that specific position, that can defend and attack, and is a top professional and a great man, the big teams are there with £100million to buy these kinds of players."
With Partey already missing a couple of games this season it has sent a reminder that Arsenal need to address the midfield department. The detriment of his absence was already highlighted in this campaign when Arteta’s side travelled to Old Trafford on the back of five consecutive wins. Arsenal struggled in the midfield against United, and ultimately lost 3-1 as Albert Sambi Lokonga came in to replace Partey, proving that without the Ghanaian in the team, the Gunners become a much weaker force.
Neves’ impressive tackling statistics coinciding with his quality on the ball could finally persuade Edu to attempt a transfer in the upcoming windows and not to replace Partey, but rather compliment him which allows the midfielder to have spells out of the team to combat his consistent injury problems. The Gunners need to sign a midfielder, and Neves is proving to be the right profile.
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