Thomas Partey Signs Arsenal Contract After Transfer from Atletico Madrid

Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

Arsenal left it until the last minute, but the London club announced the signing of Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey on Monday after triggering his £52.5 million buyout clause. 

It was a much-needed move for Arsenal’s midfield after the club let both Matteo Guendouzi (Hertha Berlin) and Lucas Torreira (Atletico Madrid) leave on loan this transfer window.

Arsenal were linked with Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar heavily throughout the summer, given a lack of playmaking in the midfield—Mesut Ozil is the forgotten man in north London—but that deal never materialized and Aouar stayed with Lyon.

Partey >was also one of the players regularly linked to the Gunners, alongside Chelsea’s Jorginho. Ultimately, it was the Atletico Madrid midfielder who came to Arsenal.

The 27-year-old will add a physical, ball-winning presence to Arsenal’s midfield while giving Mikel Arteta’s side a player capable of making driving runs forward and breaking the lines with his passing. It’s unclear if Arsenal will transition to a 4-3-3 with Partey providing defensive cover from the midfield or if the team will continue playing a hybrid 3-4-3 system that morphs into a 4-3-3 in attack.

In its current form, Kieran Tierney plays in a back three defensively and slides over to a left fullback position as Arsenal go forward. Either Ainsley Maitland-Niles or Bukayo Saka plays as the left wingback defensively and slides into more of an attacking midfield role going forward.

Various combinations of Granit Xhaka, Dani Ceballos and Mohamed Elneny were then playing in a midfield two. Partey will be favored to either regularly settle into that midfield two—pairing with one of Xhaka or Ceballos—or a midfield three with both players.

Regardless of how Arsenal lines up, Partey is a major upgrade in the midfield. There are still some questions about a lack of creation, but the more positionally sound and resolute Arsenal under Arteta just got a player perfectly suited to boss the midfield.