Arsenal are reportedly in talks with Atletico Madrid over a deal to sign Thomas Partey, with Lucas Torreira going in the opposite direction. Torreira has fallen out-of-favour under Gunners manager Mikel Arteta, who has played the likes of Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny, and Dani Ceballos ahead of the Uruguayan.
As per El Gol Digital, Atleti manager Diego Simeone has contacted Arsenal about signing Torreira, and the Gunners want Thomas Partey included in any potential deal. The north London side have held a long-standing interest in the defensive midfielder, who has a release clause of £45 million. Torino were interested in signing Torreira and were to sign him on a loan deal, but the Italian side are reportedly apprehensive about the £22 million fee that they will have to pay to make the deal permanent.
Torreira, who joined the Gunners from Sampdoria in 2018, has three years remaining on his contract at Arsenal.
Good decision?
Arsenal have been interested in signing Thomas Partey for quite a while now, but the Gunners have not been willing to activate his £45 million release clause, which Atletico Madrid are adamant will be the price to match if a team wants to acquire his services. Partey is a combative, strong, and aggressive defensive midfielder, who could add steel to the Gunners midfield. This is an issue Arsenal have struggled to address satisfactorily for a long time. But with Elneny seemingly turning over a new leaf and Granit Xhaka attaining some much-needed consistency, Arsenal seem to edging towards having a balanced midfield in a long time.
Arteta seems to have made a few smart signings and has the team playing the way he wants them to, and there seems to be definite progress made over the last six months. The signing of Thomas Partey could take them one step further in the right direction as he could provide a firm and solid screen to the backline, allowing Arsenal’s talented forwards to run amok at the other end of the pitch.
Letting go of Torreira could be a good decision as the Uruguayan hasn’t been consistent enough in the Gunners team. Arteta seeks discipline in his players and while he seems to have helped Xhaka channel his flamboyance in a much more productive manner, spending a similar amount of resource on Torreira might not be the best investment right now.
Partey also adds strength and power to the midfield and is good defensively when the ball is on the ground as well as in the air. The Ghanaian international is also a confident passer of the ball, which would suit Arsenal’s style of play and is an investment the Gunners should look to make.