Thomas Partey being unable to start just under half the Arsenal matches he has been present at the club for is frankly a dreadful record. Frustratingly it is out of his and the club’s control, to some degree.
I say to some degree, considering Mikel Arteta has rushed the Ghanaian back in his earlier time with the team, the north London derby in 2020/21, that potentially could have contributed to the injuries repetition. Yet, all that said, the reality that Partey will face injuries is unlikely to change for Arsenal.
A midfielder should have arguably been signed this summer and the rush and failure to land Douglas Luiz on Deadline Day was perhaps an indication that the club believed this too. However, Luiz is not a player to provide the quality cover in the deep midfield position, certainly not of a level to compete with Partey.
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If Arsenal aims to reach a level beyond just Champions League qualification, they need to look to the two teams who have achieved this in recent seasons. Manchester City and Liverpool both invested heavily in one world-class defensive midfielder who anchored their sides on their way to Premier League and, in the case of Liverpool, Champions League titles.
Jurgen Klopp went for Fabinho from Monaco, whereas Pep Guardiola signed Rodri from Atletico Madrid. Two physically imposing players but with excellent technical and passing abilities.
Both are not afraid to chip in with goals either. Check out the highlight reel of both players to see some long-range stunners.
With Partey facing so many problems with consistent minutes on the field, Arsenal need to find their own player. In 2022, an obvious candidate was not there.
Whilst Yves Bissouma moved to Tottenham, and Kalvin Phillips went to Man City, both find themselves on the bench. Personally, neither are of the level of Fabinho or Rodri for me.
Potentially the player emerges over the course of this season, but with Mohamed Elneny’s deal up in 2023, arguably, two midfield additions could be required. football.london understands that Arsenal could re-engage their interest in Palmeiras’ Danilo in January, and the Brazilian would be a suitable replacement for the Egyptian.
But the summer, hopefully with Champions League status secured too, can provide an option that Arsenal can secure to help propel them to an even higher level than the expectation for this season. It must be the objective of the Gunners to return to the very top of English football, and currently, the glaring necessity to secure a world-class midfielder should be the priority for Edu and Mikel Arteta at the first opportunity.
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