A saga that preceded the summer has finally come to an end as Arsenal finally landed their man as transfer deadline day drew to a close.
Thomas Partey is officially a Gunner after the Gunners made the bold decision to activate his £45million release clause, which Atletico Madrid had ensured would be the only way he would leave Spain in this window.
After the pursuit of Houssem Aouar went cold, the mood around the Arsenal fanbase was understandably dejected. Despite this, and a stressful midfield performance in the first half against Sheffield United, Mikel Arteta has been proven right to have remained confident throughout.
“I am confident we know exactly what we want to do, that we are all trying our best to finalise the deals that we want,” he said on the eve of deadline day.
![[FILE] Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (L) runs with the ball as Arsenal’s Brazilian defender Gabriel closes in during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in London. (Photo by Catherine Ivill / POOL / AFP)](https://www.afriupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/000_97B779-scaled-e1703231851386-120x86.jpg "Liverpool host Arsenal in battle for Premier League Christmas No. 1 4")
“Whether that is sending people on loan or bringing someone in, we have complete connection between myself, Edu, the board and the ownership, Let’s see what happens in the next 36 hours.”
The manager was have a week and a half to decide how Partey will fit into his immediate plans, which will bring many questions to answer. Here, football.london look at where the 27-year-old may be best suited to playing once Premier League football returns.
Right of a three man midfield
Arteta decided to stick with the 3-4-3 system that served him so well after the restart as not only did it offer Arsenal more defensive solidity, but they were also becoming much more authoritative when in possession.
Despite this, it must not be forgotten that the Spaniard’s initial plans after the restart were to switch from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3. He used this system twice as Gunners boss but within 22 minutes of its debut, he hit a snag as both Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari sustained injuries at Manchester City.
Key to Arteta’s midfield before the switch, responsibility was once again landing at Xhaka’s feet as he started as the anchor in midfield, where he would be tasked to control the pace of the game. As for Mari, he arrived in January as the only left-footed centre-back at the club, he was vital to giving Arsenal “different phases of our play, different options to make it difficult for the opponent.” as the boss told football.london in January.
While Xhaka has returned and Gabriel Magalhaes has joined the club, the lack of a true box to box midfielder may have seen Arteta stick to the comforts of his 3-4-3. Although Dani Ceballos has proven how effective he can be both with and without possession, he isn’t the midfielder to drive Arsenal forward, but with Partey, that midfielder might just be at the club.
Reverting to a three-man midfield would require balance. That would have been lacking in a Ceballos, Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny midfield as none truly travel with the ball. At Atletico Madrid, however, Partey was a constant threat when breaking up the pitch from midfield which would serve the Gunners incredibly well with the troubles they have had in that area of the pitch.
In regards to how the 27-year-old would fit in this particular puzzle, he would be the all-action shuttler taking control of the inside channel on the right. Although Partey can deliver in the final third, that responsibility will be shared with Ceballos who will do a somewhat similar job but one that sees him assist the deep-lying Xhaka more often to give the Arsenal midfield a natural swing, similar to the current back three.
Double pivot in a 3-4-3
If Arteta felt it too early to shift from the current system, that shouldn’t be a problem for Partey, even if Atletico rarely played with a three while he was at the club.
The main benefit would lie with the fact the 27-year-old would act as a very necessary counter-balance to Xhaka, who would most likely be the midfielder to survive in this case. Under Arteta, Arsenal have been most dangerous down the left wing and the Swiss has played a major part in that with the spaces he occupies between centre-back and wing-back, his distribution from those areas and of course, the shielding of the backline out of possession.
While Ceballos has offered him great support on the right, there’s no hiding the fact attacks have been less smooth. Especially this season, the Spaniard has been forced to roam across the pitch to have an impact further forward, even if he does well when in building attacks from deep.
Partey will therefore give Arsenal a more consistent presence advancing through those channels on the right which should help specifically with the pace of attacks down the right. Too often is it the case that the Gunners venture forward into the final third on the right wing only for too much time to be taken, forcing Hector Bellerin to knock the ball back to his centre-back.
As well as assisting in that sense, Partey won’t be foreign to the defensive demands in that role. In a two as opposed to a three, he will have to be more disciplined and at Atletico, he’s developed his positional awareness to the point where he can read the game well enough to jump in and intercept, while he also has the strength to win in one-on-one duels.
Although Ceballos’ timing and awareness being exceptional, this is an area where he cannot match his new team-mate.
Double pivot of a 4-2-3-1
Adding an extra body in midfield opens the possibilities for different variations of a 4-3-3. The primary system would use Xhaka as a No.6. while Partey and Ceballos function as No.8.s in more box-to-box roles for Arteta.
Even with Partey’s presence, however, Arsenal may find creativity to be an issue. Should this be the case, then it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see Arteta revert to a 4-2-3-1 with a No.10. which he used upon taking the job in December until football was brought to a halt in March.
So far this season, despite the main shape being a 3-4-3, in games there has been a great deal of flexibility with his Arsenal side. The most blatant example of this has been with Bukayo Saka’s performances as when he has played [on paper] as a left wing-back, he often comes into more central areas to act more like a third central midfielder.
Having struggled to find spaces to exploit in the first half against Sheffield United, this happened again in the second half. The only difference was after the hour mark, Willian – who had moved to the left wing – was taking up very central areas, almost playing exclusively as a No.10. when Arsenal were in possession before drifting back out wide for the defensive shape.
If Arteta looked to go with this tactic from the start of games, it would be completely understandable. Missing out on Houssem Aouar, the Gunners didn’t find a player that would naturally occupy those areas and look to make the difference on a consistent basis by either playing the killer ball or going for goal himself.
This season, although Mesut Ozil’s future looks bleak, there are options for that role in the side.
As the most experienced player, Arteta may favour Willian, as he has done early this season. This switch in particular could be timely as Nicolas Pepe has increasingly proven he should be starting off the right wing, where the Brazilian has been started in every Premier League game this season.
Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock may be further down in the pecking order, but will get opportunities to impress in the Europa League. This role in particular would favour Smith Rowe as he is more natural at arriving into those areas and making key decisions but either way, the possibility is open.
Wherever Partey plays, in whatever system, however, he should make an extremely positive impact on the Arsenal midfield for this season and those to come.
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