THOMAS PARTEY SIGNS

by .

Bloody hell, Edu and Vinai only went and done it.

LaLiga informed Atlético de Madrid at 11.28pm on Monday that Arsenal representatives have paid Thomas Partey’s release clause at the sports association’s headquarters.

The player has therefore unilaterally terminated his contract with our club, which ran until June 30, 2023.

Ice fucking cold. Have you ever seen Arsenal do a deal so bereft of humanity? Unbelievable. That’s a Panenka in the 90th minute of a World Cup final. That’s a rainbow flick against peak Stoke in the 1st minute. That’s rolling into a Bermondsey pub on an away day singing ‘What do you think of MILWALL.’

This transfer will go down in folklore as the moment we stopped being a banter club.

I was told over and over that Arsenal were going hard at deals, even on Sunday. Arteta and his team pushed the club as hard as they could to do as much as they could afford. I suspect the original plan was to bring in creativity, when that deal stalled because of the rumoured whisperings of Zizou, Arsenal knew the details of the Partey release clause and went to town to activate against it.

I think, on the face of, we have made an immensely positive decision to bring in Thomas Partey. He gives us control in midfield. He is explosive over short distances, he boasts power we don’t have, and I think the club is betting they can unlock a player we haven’t seen in a more expansive system.

What I love about this move is; like the FA Cup laid to rest the idea that Arteta couldn’t handle the job, this buries the notion that we need a dirtbag like Raul running our transfer business. This summer was an unbelievably tough one to navigate. We plundered a ridiculous amount of money on players in 2019 and they didn’t deliver. We had to sell this summer, restructure some debt, and probably get a bit of help somewhere from KSE (I don’t have that sourced).

We made a deal happen for a player that can greatly enhance our ability to get back into the Champions League. This move is massive. Can you name many players better than him in that role? It’d be tough.

I’ve seen some whining from the radar merchants. I can’t have it. Arteta knows a player and he has a group of excellent analysts supporting his judgement. I also find it incredibly weird to read people critiquing his age and his salary.

Firstly, this is a guy that has played consistently at the very highest level of the game for one of the best coaches in the world (188 appearances). He has been part of setup so caked in shithousery, it’s rumoured your face burns when you walk into the training ground (something we badly lack). Simeone is a disciplinarian, a fitness fanatic, and will have imbued winnertivity into the Partey’s bones.

Secondly, he has just turned 27 years old (June). When Auba’s deal finishes, Thomas will be 30. Sure, his resale value won’t be high, but this move is a shrewd attempt at Champions League qualification right now. Questions over his salary are also nonsense. Football players love to play with great names. The squad will be buzzing about his arrival, they won’t care what he earns because he’ll be worth it. This move ticks all the boxes, it’s an extremely consequential transfer for the ambitious vision the club now has.

We still lack depth when it comes to creativity. By not signing a #8, we are relying on a creatively shy group of players like Reiss, Pepe, Willian, ESR, Saka and Ceballos coming up with a more ambitious approach to their play. There’s still time to do something with one of the clubs in the lower league. Benrahma and Buendia are the standout players that still haven’t move. We have a great relationship with Brentford and we also have ESR who could be a makeweight for a season if that works. A stretch idea though, I suspect we blew all our cash at 11:28pm last night.

Still, Arteta is a progressive coach who has not shied away from reality. He knows his job is to make players better and innovate his way out of problems. Partey gives him a different set of strategems to work with. Let’s see what he can do. Worst case, we can have another crack at Aouar in January.

Quick note on the exiting players. Matteo G moved to Hertha Berlin where Jens Lehmann is on the board and acting as a Sporting Consultant. Good luck if the Frenchman makes him look silly, that’ll be a big mistake. It was also great to see LT get his loan to Atletico. The rumours we’d pulled the deal sounded wrong, petty and counter-productive. Hopefully, he proves himself under Simeone and pumps his value.

Mustafi, Sokratis, Chambers, Reiss, Kola, Saliba, and Ozil all stayed. That wasn’t great for our bank balance, but most will exit next summer on free transfers. That is a huge advantage for our Europa League push. It means we’ll have a group of players that are very capable shop-windowing themselves in those games. That’ll give our first team players one less game to worry about until February. That could reap huge rewards for injuries and freshness when we head into crunch time next year. Every cloud, eh?! Thankfully, we don’t have a manager that’ll play his full strength 11 against Dundalk.

Today is a great day. We’ve had a transfer window that felt purposeful. Each player made sense. We improved in most of the areas we set out to make ourselves better. We made the blockbuster signing we all wanted. Our spine is looking… strong. How oddly satisfying it feels to write that. On that high note, enjoy the moment, and start getting excited about the season ahead!

Pluuuuuus, listen to my podcast right now. 

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Chinagunner

First

Chinagunner

Trophy

Tiltmode

Tro4hy? why not

Chinagunner

The party has well and truly started. Hopefully he will be the enabler of arteta’s vision of the the game

Graham

Europa league

Santan

1st

Santan

damn

Aasim

Honestly, a little underwhelmed by the Partey signing. Whatever I have seen of him, he doesn’t seem to have the kind of mobility that Kante does. He doesn’t quite snap at the oppositions players feet and isn’t as adept at covering the kind of ground as Kante. In terms of ball progression, he liked to dribble his way out of tight spaces and mostly uses his strength to create space rather than fast skillful feet. And he doesn’t have a great pass on him. He won’t press forward when his team have possession and become another option and outlet near… Read more »

Cotswolds

I cannot wait for the Man City game and hope Partey comes straight in to the team. We have the start of a strong spine for the first time is so long. Exciting times ahead.

Savage

I suspect we’re well into the red after that outlay. How ironic would it be if we got fined for an FFP breach after all the noise we made about it?

Graham62

Cotswold

Just imagine if we had a better keeper.

Never mind.

CazOnARola

Ridiculous signing. So happy. Our problem has been transitions for almost a decade. Transition of our defense quickly and stalling the opposition transitions through players who can cover ground.

Partey ticks both the boxes. He will be able to find pepe, auba, Willian and saka quickly and can also evade the press and move forward quickly.

Absolutely top class signing in an area neglected for almost 15 years.

CazOnARola

Aasim, there are plenty of full match replays with him playing on YouTube. I have watched many of them in the past month.
His feet don’t look quick because he is waay taller than kante. He doesn’t need to move his feet as quick as kante (leg speed) to move forward as fast because of far bigger strides. I agree about the play around the box, but he isn’t really signed for that. Kante is a freak player who can play multiple positions. We will be fine with him playing deeper which will allow other players to move forward

raptora

From the other post it’s interesting how much we’ve actually paid to get the Partey started. I believe it was the £45m pounds buyout clause + £2.5m singing on fee directly in Partey’s pocket. Now I’m not aware of the 10% agent commission. Is it 10% of the buyout clause or 10% of the signing on fee or wtf? I also doubt the salary even if it was reported by everyone as £260k pw. From £65k in Spain to £260k with us. It doesn’t sound realistic. If it was a £45m spread across several years, it was going to be… Read more »

Cotswolds

Graham62

😂

Bertfish

Just a thought but will Arteta go to a back 4 now we have Partey on board protecting the defence? We could then play Ceballos with Partey in the middle, Auba up front with Pepe & Saka on each side & Willian playing the no.10 roll & maybe Ozil evening challenging him for this spot. The good thing like Pedro has said is we have a huge squad to navigate the EL games so the first 11 will be fresh for the league games. The next window opens in just 12 weeks time so we can then ship some of… Read more »

CazOnARola

This is a decent video analysis of his strengths.
The guy will find ppl between the lines don’t worry. He may have to adjust his gsme as we have many players who cannot control the ball in tight areas in the “center” like Auba, Nelson, Nketiah, etc so he should choose instead of always playing to feet like he does for athletico. There are players at arsenal that will lose the ball played to feet and cause a counter attack.

https://youtu.be/wS-pHtWYDyI

Rosapirescastlesaka

_______________Xhaka
_________Thomas_____Dani

____________VS

______De Bryune____Foden
_______________Rodri

Not so scary now Man City

CazOnARola

Saka is the trump card, playing hybrid positions of full back in defense and in the half spaces like a 10 in attack.
Him, Willian and Ceballos will cause city problems.

Don’t see xhaka starting in important games without injuries.

It will be the same team as against SHU, with Partey replacing elneny as a substitute. He will take time to learn Arteta’s system, will be surprised if he starts against city, but it can’t be ruled out

Leftside

Still buzzing off this

Dream10

From David Cartlidge Spanish football expert

He is NOT a powerhouse midfielder or destroyer. He’s more methodical than that. Yes, he’s athletic and his physique makes him difficult to knock off the ball but his reading of the game + soothing nature in hectic moments under Simeone has shone above everything else.

Partey can play in a double pivot as his best position. He can play as a direct DM, or sit along side another CM who sits deeper. Either works. At Atleti’s he played effortlessly in their famously rigid, organised 4-4-2. He also suits 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 systems though.

Danny

Each player made sense.
————–
Sorry Pedro but Willian made no sense at all except to Willian himself so he and his family can continue to stay in London.

Left testicle

Mustafi, Sokratis, Chambers, Reiss, Kola, Saliba, and Ozil all stayed. That wasn’t great for our bank balance, but most will exit next summer on free transfers. That is a huge advantage for our Europa League push. It means we’ll have a group of players that are very capable shop-windowing themselves in those games.
…………………
Even spinning and positive about the fact we still have tonnes of deadwood.

Rosapirescastlesaka

I think Xhaka has been superb and has a big part to play . Xhaka and Thomas in a duo is powerhouse level 5 . Dani providing creativity and additional flair from Saka/Wilian should be the way forward . Right now totally my personal opinion, that of a normal person not a manager would be _______________Leno Bellerin___Luiz____Gabriel___Tierney ________________Xhaka_________ ___________Thomas______Dani _________Pepe______Auba____Saka I think city game is a step to far to move to 4 at the back so input Saka to LWB and reshape team to be more solid , perhaps less creative but in Pepe and Auba have two men… Read more »

Left testicle

By not signing a #8, we are relying on a creatively shy group of players like Reiss, Pepe, Willian, ESR, Saka and Ceballos coming up with a more ambitious approach to their play.
…………………….
This is the worry. Creativity.

Redbearer

Immensely happy to see us do a deal like this on deadline day, so very bold of Arteta and Edu. Clearly Aouar does not fancy joining us at the moment but that’s his loss because Arsenal are heading in the direction we have all wanted and I am particularly pleased to have a no-nonsense coach like Arteta leading by example and getting the best out of the players. This is the best I have felt about Arsenal in years! So much so that I should consider changing my name from Redbearer to Redbolder lol

Ishola70

Rosapirescastlesaka
_______________Xhaka
_________Thomas_____Dani____________

VS______

De Bryune____Foden______________

RodriNot so scary now Man City

?????????????

What is the point of buying Partey if he isn’t going to be the controlling midfielder. The go to man in midfield. The player who receives the ball in first phase. You are going to diminish him by playing Xhaka behind him. With that line-up Xhaka still is the hub midfielder. The first man who receives the ball in first phase.

Ishola70

Dream10

“Partey can play in a double pivot as his best position”

He’s ideal for a double pivot.

But what Arsenal player is going to be able to interact with him in this double pivot Dream?

China1

3 good signings for arsenal this summer. I wonder if we’re being greedy to hope some high end under the radar affordable creative genius can be picked up from the championship.

Am I being greedy? Yes, probably. I’ll take what we’ve been given tho!

shad

“By not signing a #8, we are relying on a creatively shy group of players like Reiss, Pepe, Willian, ESR, Saka and Ceballos coming up with a more ambitious approach to their play.”

Have a feeling we will rotate the CAM role between Willian, Saka and probably Ceballos. Partey displaces Xhaka IMO, and I’m sure Xhaka partly knows we’ve gotten a direct upgrade for his position who is the proper box-to-box midfielder.

Unless Xhaka convers to a CB lol

Dream10

Ishola

Partey will be paired with Xhaka of course

shad

The Partey signing simply is the pinnacle of shithousery on a team that epitomizes shithousing. I saw many netizens comment that this affects future deals with Ateltico but who cares? They aren’t the only club to deal with. Let’s also keep an eye on Lyon and where they will be come January in the Ligue 1 table..

Ishola70

Dream10
“Partey will be paired with Xhaka of course”

Well if Arteta pairs Partey with Xhaka don’t call it a double pivot because Xhaka in the truest sense of the term double pivot isn’t capable to perform in one.

Xhaka is a player that requires to play in a certain area.

The true term of double pivot is one midfielder covering another going forward and coming back defending covering the other. Vice versa.

Tea

Signed Partey, Signed Willian, signed Gabriel, re-signed Ceballos, also extended Saka, Martinelli and Auba’s contracts. l think l’ll rate our summer a 7.5, we did some really good business addressing problem areas of the squad and extending contracts. The negatives were the length of time it took with these signings/contract extensions and l would have liked us to have also signed Aouar/Szoboszlai and someone like Myron Boadu. Aside from that lm pleased with our summer, l thought with the way Jorginho rumours were hotting up over the past couples of days, l was gonna gonna have to find Edu’s address… Read more »

Habesha Gooner

After years of watching Xhaka, I cant believe the negativity of some fans. Any one who has watched him properly will tell you he is easily comparable to any DM in the league. He is like Matic at the top of his game. Matic was wonderful at Chelsea . Any way I think he will every fan with his performances. I am confident about that. The pick of the championship are Said benrahma and Emi buendia. I would rather have buendia though. 20 mil can get it done I reckon. He is a tireless, creative, nippy and two footed midfielder.… Read more »

raptora

What exactly was the shithousery that I don’t see? Atletico had a player with a release clause. We failed on landing Aouar when we were trying to get this transfer done probably all the way to Monday. So we moved to Partey. We paid the clause and we got the player. We even played fair with them re Torreira. It all sounds fair to me. It’s the risks of having a top player with a reasonably low buyout clause. Not our fault.

AFC Forever

Everyone is worried about creativity.

Meanwhile, a certain Mesut Ozil can’t even make the bench and all the assists he’s delivered for us has been forgotten. His wages are mentioned more than his vision & the contribution he has made in the past. Sure he’s not great defensively but in tight games in the counter he moves between the lines & makes perfectly weighted passes. From the bench he is a massive asset. I’m not sure why there is so much hate tbh. He is World Class creatively.

Ishola70

Xhaka is not dynamic enough to play in a true double pivot.

He’s too static as a player.

Danny Morales salazar

https://images.app.goo.gl/5GXeQj38NQzJ6RKr8

Xhaka when he heard we signed partey.

Bamford10

Ishola Ceballos is our best other midfielder. He is a little short of quickness and athleticism, but he is top class technically and a top class passer of the ball. He is not Partey’s equal athletically, but he *is* his equal (if not his better) technically. However, if Ceballos played alongside Partey, who would play in front of them? Willian? Ozil? I don’t know. To the extent that Arteta is even thinking about running a three-CM midfield this season — and we don’t know that he is — he might believe he can play Xhaka alongside Partey in a double… Read more »

Danny

It’s the risks of having a top player with a reasonably low buyout clause.
———————–
Like how it worked out with Suarez……

Emiratesstroller

Pedro There has been a lot of criticism about the way the club has been run. Some was probably justified. Kroenke was a major shareholder with a controlling interest in club, but he did not own in until he bought out Usmanov and other shareholders. It should not be forgotten also that Kroenke has spent about a billion pounds buying shares. That is more than three times the cost of Ownership of Man City, five times the cost of buying Liverpool and ten times cost of buying Chelsea. No-one should expect seriously Kroenke pumping in money into a club where… Read more »

Ishola70

Ceballos has been outperforming Xhaka in midfield for quite a while simple as that.

So just on merit the first two pencilled in midfield are Partey and Ceballos.

I just don’t see where Xhaka fits in.

Elneny would be a better bet in a double pivot with Partey. At least he is somewhat mobile.

And if it’s a two man midfield it should be Partey and Ceballos every time. In the games that really matter that is.

Bertfish

Just on the deadwood we can still sell / loan to Portugal & Russia who’s windows are still open for another couple of weeks.

We still have 19 non home grown players of which only 17 can be named in the premier league squad so 2 won’t be getting a sniff.

Be interesting to see which 2 this will be? Sokratis & Mustafi perhaps?

Graham

I aimed for Europa league but got 4th place. M aybe it’s a sign of our season.

I still think that spending 45 million is a bit over the top as a way to bury the Gunnersaurus bad news.

Bamford10

Habesha “ Any one who has watched him properly will tell you he is easily comparable to any DM in the league. He is like Matic at the top of his game.” Sorry, but this is complete nonsense. He’s terrible defensively — he’s slow, he lacks athleticism and he constantly fouls to cover over this — and he isn’t nearly as good on the ball or in close spaces as Matic. Xhaka is maybe slightly better than his biggest detractors here think he is, but he is not the equal of the best holding mids or defensive mids in the… Read more »

AFC Forever

Good point Banford.

We shouldn’t fixate on the 11. Arteta will pick the best team for the opponent, that’s what he does. It’s about have the ability to play the most effective 11 not what we may consider our best 11.

The squad is important, there will he injuries & fatigue especially with Europa League. This is where I can see Ozil getting games, we are going to have the defensive solidity to protect his weakness off the ball.

Ishola70

Bamford

If Arteta wants to pair Partey and Xhaka then so be it.

But just don’t term it as a double pivot because it won’t be one.

We can pretend it’s one if you like.

raptora

Danny: “Like how it worked out with Suarez……”

Why.. The would still hasn’t healed…

AFC Forever

“I still think that spending 45 million is a bit over the top as a way to bury the Gunnersaurus bad news.”

Graham,

Where would you play Gunnersaurus then instead of Partey? Bit of a lump, good in the air probably. Not very mobile though & not sure he’d take to Pasta. Getting on a bit too, I mean he must be getting on for 50 million years old. You want to give him a 3 year deal?

Tea

Habesha

“After years of watching Xhaka, I cant believe the negativity of some fans. Any one who has watched him properly will tell you he is easily comparable to any DM in the league. He is like Matic at the top of his game”.

This statement is mind blowing.

Graham

AFC Forever

I guess we could always sponsor Gunnersaurus as a e-games player. That’s effectively what we are doing with Ozil.

Tea

For one of the best DMs in the world 45 million is a bargain

curse

TP18!!! ASE!!! feels like a mofo dream!!! at. fuckin. last. This ain’t quantum physics, Thomas (my dad’s surname, just saying) with all the aspects surrounding was a no brainer if you’re serious about football. I would of been looking at Mikel real funny had he got this one wrong. like you said Pedro, this is where the banter stops, the flag in the sand. Everyone has seen already how quickly art has turned things around, this is gonna have a few shitting themselves. Can only imagine what next summers window will be like once all those contracts expire!!! Art ain’t… Read more »

CHEN

I know I’m gonna get slated but… I really wish we would sign Jack wilshere on a pay per game basis… if he agrees and arteta manages him well, it would make sense

SpanishDave

Just goes to prove how bad our dross is. Nobody wants them, being overpaid is a big problem for us.
The young players must step up to improve our goal scoring capabilities as this is a necessity to get 4th.

Ishola70

If Partey is paired with Xhaka Partey becomes Xhaka’s workhorse. We have seen it before with all the players that have been paired with him. They have to cover for his weaknesses. And what a shame that would be Partey becoming a mere workhorse for another player. Also the pairing of Partey and Xhaka will mean that Partey doesn’t become the true controlling midfielder in the side. As long as Xhaka is behind him he will still be the one first receiving the ball in first phase. Arteta must have a complete fixation with left foots if Xhaka remains a… Read more »

curse

oh and massive shout out to the negotiation team, played an absolute blinder, chess at its finest.
Will aulas be willing to accept less for aouar In Jan given the way things worked out for them? we’ll SEE:

Northbanker

Fantastic news on Partey – I’d like to see a 3 man midfield with first choice being Partey and Ceballos playing behind Willian or Saka (the other one playing LW). I would also bring Ozil back into the mix – perfect for teams parking the bus but not against top 6 sides where counter-attacking more likely.

Guns of Brixton

Hope and fear now lies in Thomas hitting the ground running or needing time to adjust to his new surroundings.

Regardless. This is another step into the right direction for us. Making huge steps atm. Lets hope this urgency continues off and on the pitch.

Northbanker

We will still need a goalkeeper upgrade to someone who can catch the ball which is a very rare breed these days. If we had been a bit quicker, we could have got the guy who went cheap to Aston Villa – oh wait………….

Kris

“He is explosive over short distances,”

That is not true AT ALL. Partey has roughly the same speed as Torreira in longer distances, but over short distances – no, he’s slower than Lucas. He needs a few yards to get properly going. Still, MUCH faster than Xhaka and noticeably faster than Jorginho…

If you compare Partey to Torreira:
Partey much stronger,
max. speed similar,
acceleration – Lucas faster,
passing similar,
shooting – Partey better,
dribbling – Partey at least slightly better.
Other aspects are tough to rate as Partey played for a very specific team.

Moe

For most prem games it’s gonna be Partey, Xhaka and Ceballos if we go 4 3 3. For the tough away and home games such as against City, Pool or against fast counterattacking teams like Leicester has to be 3 4 3 with Partey and Ceballos in the middle and Partey dropping back. Xhaka and Mo will be alternating a lot depending on need to defend or attack. Arteta has demonstrated that he won’t take chances and be too attack minded.

G8

Excellent signing, hopefully it would be the end of our laboured sideway passing midfield

Guns of Brixton

Welbeck is now free.

So is Jack Wilshere.

Lads, its time to bring the old band back together…

Northbanker

Kris – what are your sources for that comparison. I suspect acceleration is misleading – Partey is much taller than Torreira so doesn’t need to run as fast to get same acceleration.

What about tackling?that is a key stat and one of the big problems about Torreira was that tenacious as he is his timing of tacles was awful and always in danger of being carded. That was a huge issue for me and made LT a liability in the team. He may be better in Spanish league where the game is slower.

Left testicle

I know I’m gonna get slated but… I really wish we would sign Jack wilshere on a pay per game basis… if he agrees and arteta manages him well, it would make sense
………………….
Chen,
Go and sit in the corner and think about what you have just typed. This is 2020, not 2010.

Tom

.” Matteo G moved to Hertha Berlin where Jens Lehmann is on the board and acting as a Sporting Consultant. Good luck if the Frenchman makes him look silly, that’ll be a big mistake”

Pedro, unless Guen called your girlfriend ugly or worse, I find your constant negativity with this player a tad weird.
I hope he’s a great success in Bundesliga because that will mean he’s market value will also increase.

raptora

Prime Wilshere (6 month period lul) > Aouar. Just saying.

Ubameyang

We finally have a Man of steel in midfield

Welcome Partey….Patrick Viera 2.0

We mooovvvveeee!

Champagne charlie

Fuck me, we sign Partey and before a ball is kicked you have the likes of Ishola already laying the groundwork for blaming Xhaka for any underwhelming returns. Do grow up. The player is rated by the manager, make your peace and be done you boring cunt, seriously. Partey signing means we can potentially see Ceballos return further forward to play a more traditional playmaking role. His stint as a pure CM may have done wonders for his overall game, and we can see a player with the necessary technique but also bite operating behind the front three. We shall… Read more »

Habesha Gooner

Bamford If you havent watched him shut up. He was doing graet for simeone, a defensive coach who demands a lot. Slow, poor defensively and lacks atleticism/? Just wow you listed every thing he is good at as weaknesses and I know you havent watched him play. Its because of his positioning ability tat simeone loved him. You are just a cunt who winds people up as superior person. You were waxing lyrical about Ndidi who isnt an equal to partey. I have never met an arsenal fan that likes his own ego more than he wants his team to… Read more »

Left testicle

Partey + Gunnersaurus is preferable to Partey + Xhaka

Emiratesstroller

It will be interesting to learn tonight who is being registered by the club for this season. We have 19 overseas players on books who are over 21 and are not home grown. My guess is that two will still be offloaded either to countries who have still not closed their transfer business or will be left unregistered. The obvious candidates for departure will come from Mustafi, Sokratis or Kolasinac. The most likely would appear to be latter two. Ozil is currently untransferable, but he could be left unregistered, which means that we need only offload one player. The next… Read more »

Jamie

The bitchslap we delivered to AM at the 11 hour was absolutely beautiful.

Can’t wait for Partey to settle into the squad!

Kaz

Auoar wants Real Madrid, no pressure for Aulus to sell in Jan with Real looking for a summer move.

We should make a move for Szoboszlai instead.

Ishola70

I’ll be calling out Arteta Charlie if Xhaka remains a mainstay in the team simple as that.

He has signed a dynamic midfielder.

Now is his chance to make that overall midfield dynamic and drop a player that makes it less so.

Kaz

Neny and Partey is a solid base.

Mr Serge

bamford has had multiple bans because he is a bit weird

Kaz

Could go 442, 4411, 4231, 433

It’s nice to finally have the options

Left testicle

Why did we bitch slap Athletico? There was an clause which we activated.

curse

xhaka’s levels in the group rise. good days.

Just Another Customer

Ishola the Xhaka obsessive

Arteta rates him deal with it man

every player has his uses in this squad yes even Willock or ‘Nikita’

Kay

I cab defo see either of Ceballos and Willian operating as the no 10
It really depends on whether Auba or Laca plays ST

Top 4 here we come
Cautiously optimistic

Jamie

“Why did we bitch slap Athletico? There was an clause which we activated.”

The timing.

Ishola70

Just Another Customer You will find the majority on here want Xhaka to be eased out now that Partey is signed. You are in the minority. In regards Arteta rating him there a few on here that like playing the club man and just blindly supporting club and manager decisions and approving them without thinking for themselves. Arsenal as a club and Arsenal managers haven’t been making all the right decisions. And there will be more than enough on here that will tell you that the clubs and managers decisions over this midfield for over four years haven’t been the… Read more »

curse

international break too, perfect time to settle in. brunch at Aubas, dinner at Dani’s, shots with Gwend… oh yeah lol.

Just Another Customer

Ishola it doesn’t mean that I agree wholeheartedly

I just seeing the lineup and gameplan from his point of view which may or may not be wrong

lol club man

I’m the farthest guy that can be called that

Steveyg87

I can’t see Mikel tinkering with his current formation, even with Partey entering the fold. WE have some difficult games coming up after the break so not ideal for us to start chopping and changing. Do I think Xhaka will be relegated to the bench for Partey? Hell no, Xhaka is one of the first names on the team sheet. Elneny should be worried and rightly so, while he is an Arsenal player, I will support him but he’s a nothing player. Arteta sees him as a squad player that is filling a gap while he is busy with project… Read more »

Just Another Customer

for me it would be Partey Ceballos and Willian (or dare I say it Ozil) in behind the front three but that won’t happen so I settle on playing that lineup on Football Manager instead lol

Just Another Customer

I know right Steveyg87?

No one drops Pirlo 2.0

Tom

I’m glad Arteta got his player but quite frankly I don’t get this whole Arsenal have bitch slapped AM talk.
Arsenal paid just above the market value for Partey in one lump sum, during a revenue crippling worldwide pandemic.
Liverpool paid less for Fabinho at the height of transfer market prices two seasons ago, and unless Partey is a better player than the Brazilian , I’d say AM did not do too badly.

Ishola70

Just Another Customer ” it doesn’t mean that I agree wholeheartedly” Ok fair enough. But what people have got to realise is that midfield has been a key weakness in this team for years and people have seen for long enough the reasons for it’s weakness and a player that has been having a key role in this under par midfield not being good enough overall. If it keeps being hammered home it’s only because it’s such a key area and people may actually care and want what’s best for this side. There are only a few that get irritated… Read more »

Rich

We won’t register Ozil or Sokratis.

We’ll then present them with two choice:

1. Sit the season out, and try your luck in January for a pre-contract, or a free next summer

2. End your contracts now, and try for new clubs as free agents

It would be better for them to move as free agents now, rather than sit around gathering rust for the next 8 months.

I’d offer Kolasinac a free as well and move on.

The markets going to be completely flat on its back next summer.

Marc

Ishola

Don’t worry mate Xhaka’s time is coming to an end. With better options in midfield now available Xhaka will look even more useless and the obvious weak link.

Even if Arteta won’t drop him once fans are back in the ground they’ll get the job done.

Marc

Rich

That might work with Sok and Mustafi but you’re talking about Ozil giving up £15 odd million in salary.

Unfortunately we’re stuck with him or his wages at least till next summer.

Left testicle

Marc
Not if the first fans allowed in are the type calling for the return of Wilshere.

Just Another Customer

Why are we still trying to offload Saliba? Due to the limited squad place for registration?

Northbanker

We also signed a lad called Nicolaj Moller yesterday for a fee of around £3m so I’ll be really interested to see how that develops. We may even look back at this signing as being a pivotal moment in itself- who knows?

redbro14

Obviously still stoked about Mr Partey joining us on the final hour of the deadline day. Yesterday morning checking the news with nothing happening made me feel rather sick to my stomach. I was anticipating another miserable season or rearguard action, crab like football, hoping we nick tactical points as we go. late evening, hearing the news of us triggering the clause made me stay up, reading all the gossip and reaction to the deal. Immense. Wanted Aouar also, but Tomas can slot right into the empty engine room to man the middle of the park, stopping attacks but also… Read more »

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