It's not so long ago that any suggestion of Arsenal going into a season without Thomas Partey would have triggered a meltdown among some supporters.
However, recent reports claim that the Gunners are open to cashing in on the midfielder during the summer transfer window and this stance simply highlights that so much can change within a year and that Mikel Arteta may have already foreshadowed what's to come for the Ghana international.
Now, when Arsenal's top-four hopes collapsed at the end of the 2021/22 season, much of it was attributed to the absence of Partey (and to a lesser degree Kieran Tierney) as he was in arguably the best form of his career prior to sustaining a thigh injury and there was no replacement of equal quality.
As a result, the task for Arteta and Edu last summer was to bring in cover for the Ghanaian to avoid a repeat. While that never materialised, they did manage to sign Jorginho for £12m in the January transfer window but even with that deal the general consensus was he was nothing more than a backup player.
In fact, when taking into consideration the meltdown from some Gunners supporters on social media when Partey missed the home game against Manchester City in February it showed just how important he is viewed as for many he was seen as one of few undroppable players in the side when fit and available for selection.
This is what makes Arteta's decision towards the end of the season just gone feel very significant. When Arsenal welcomed Chelsea to the Emirates at the beginning of May, they were still in the Premier League title race and with so much at stake, for Partey to not be named in the starting line-up was a big surprise ahead of kick-off.
READ MORE: Thomas Partey exit leaves Arsenal with question Edu must answer with triple midfielder deal
Although taking his performances against West Ham and Man City, into account, the Ghana international could have no complaints about being dropped but for it to happen in a big game when he was fit nonetheless might have been the first sign that he would no longer be a guaranteed starter in his favoured role.
Amid injuries in defence, Partey returned to the starting line-up for the final two games of the 2022/23 campaign but was operating at right-back and should he stay it could be a sign of things to come for next season as the Gunners are being tipped to revamp their midfield in the summer transfer window.
Declan Rice, as football.london understands is the priority target whilst links to Romeo Lavia have emerged in recent days and if Arsenal successfully complete both deals, all of a sudden Arteta has real depth in the number six position which in turn reduces the over-reliance on Partey.
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