Arsenal have looked thin in their middle third since the departures from the side to the African Cup of Nations and the decision to loan the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles despite the club’s transfer needs.
Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny have been absent from Arsenal since the unfortunate 2-1 loss against Manchester City on New Year’s Day. Granit Xhaka’s red card against Liverpool in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final only worsened the scenario and the north London derby was subsequently called off due to a lack of players to fulfil the fixture throughout the side in accordance with Premier League rules.
The club has been linked to several midfielders during the window but most notably Juventus’ Arthur Melo remains the most likely. The Brazilian has continued to play for Massimiliano Allegri despite Tuttomercato suggesting the player has agreed to the transfer.
However, Thomas Partey’s early return could be set to change the club’s strategy regarding a short-term fix in midfield.
Ghana were eliminated from the AFCON after a 3-2 loss to Comoros in which Partey was unable to prevent his side’s downfall after going a goal behind.
Partey is now expected to return to the club whereas Elneny’s Egypt need to beat Sudan to progress to the knockout rounds.
Partey could be available for the match with Burnley on Sunday should the match get the go-ahead. Sean Dyche’s side have also suffered from serious injury, Covid-19 and AFCON absentee issues which have seen the club fall far behind plenty of other sides’ fixture tallies.
With Partey back, the midfield becomes less in dire need of reinforcement however, the club should not fall into the trap of feeling comfortable.
Partey himself has suffered from form and fitness problems and the summer that Mohamed Elneny returned from loan in 2020, saw no further reinforcement in the midfield brought in besides the Ghanaian.
When the then-new signing was absent, Arsenal faltered, and their eighth-place finish can be largely attributed to the poor squad depth and lack of foresight in the market.
With an opportunity to chase a place in the top four this season up for grabs, the club cannot afford to again make the same mistake.
Arthur would represent a solid acquisition and provide plenty of strength in depth. If the deal can be done, technical director Edu should do everything he can to complete it. If not, the recruiter would be advised to quickly find an alternative.
This January window may reveal itself to be the turning point for Arsenal either positively or negatively in the context of their season. Mistakes at this stage cannot happen.
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