Arsenal can essentially give up on Thomas Partey now

For Arsenal, it was always going to be a pipe dream.

Sigh, this one is difficult to take. According to a new report from GhanaSoccerNet (via Daily Mail), Thomas Partey is set to sign a new contract with Atletico Madrid, despite interest from Arsenal. It’s thought that his wages will be doubled, so you can understand his eagerness to sign the contract.

I suppose this was always coming. Partey is a top player and while we’re heading in the right direction, we need to wait until Mikel Arteta has us playing in the Champions League again before we can sign players of this calibre. Even with the offer of tripling his current wages, Arsenal was always going to be a step down from Atletico Madrid. This is the sad reality.

Still, it’s not all doom and gloom. The midfield market is one of the most active so if Arteta still feels like he needs to bring in a player of this position, he is not short of options. In fact, just yesterday news broke that Barcelona had offered Philippe Coutinho to the Gunners.

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Thomas Partey will likely have a buyout clause in the new contract, which is one of the reasons why I feel he is open to signing it. I don’t think he sees his long-term future at Atletico Madrid, and it’s always nice to have this option in case things go pear-shaped.

It also means that it’s not over for Arsenal; when we are in a better position financially and competitively, we could easily go back in to sign Partey if he’s still needed.

For the short-term, Arsenal certainly have options. If they don’t feel they’re in the best place to sign Dani Ceballos permanently, although that is the ideal situation, they could take Barcelona up on their offer to sign Philippe Coutinho. If not, the likes of Orkun Kokcu and Carlos Soler are still very much there.

Do you think Arsenal will ever sign Thomas Partey?