Does Thomas Partey have a future at Arsenal?

It was widely expected that Thomas Partey will depart the Emirates over the course of the summer with Arsenal hot on the tail of Declan Rice. 

Having successfully signed Rice from West Ham, the future for Thomas Partey was looking bleak. Along with Kai Havertz, midfield competition all of a sudden became incredibly competitive for a player who made 40 appearances in the 2022/23 season.

However, the Ghanian international may have found himself a new role within the team with Mikel Arteta moving the deep-lying playmaker into a right full-back position in the win against Nottingham Forest.

It was reported that Partey was going to leave the Gunners, with offers being welcomed according to Football.london. Fast forward several weeks and Partey could retain his place as a regular in this side.

The 30-year-old is still subject to speculation though, with Galatasary rumoured to be submitting a bid of around £8.5m with the Gunners hoping for £12m.

Could Thomas Partey stay with Arsenal this season?

At 30, Partey is one of the more experienced members of an incredibly young squad, so losing that element will be a blow. Jurrien Timber picking up a significant knee injury could also prompt Arteta to keep Partey around as the prospect of replacing him at this stage in the window becomes difficult.

However, Arteta could use the funds to continue his refurbishment of this Arsenal side but with Mohamed Elneny still contracted and on track to return in the Autumn, that may play into the Spaniard’s thinking.

There are plenty of pro’s and cons for each side of the argument and relying on a 30-year-old midfielder to be a makeshift right-back doesn’t seem sustainable.

But for Arteta, losing an experienced member of his squad in a summer that saw Granit Xhaka also leave could prove too significant of a decision and therefore decide to retain the former Atletico Madrid midfielder.