The first major signing Mikel Arteta made as Arsenal manager was that of Thomas Partey.
The Ghanaian international arrived at the club from Atlético Madrid in early October 2020 for a fee of around £45m, and since then, he’s enjoyed a mostly successful stay in North London, making 162 appearances, scoring nine goals and providing seven assists.
For quite some time, it looked as if he would be leaving the team at the expiration of his contract this summer, but based on reports from The Athletic’s David Ornstein, there is now a chance he could be offered a new deal.
However, if other reports are to be believed, that may be entirely unnecessary as Arsenal have now been linked with another incredible midfielder who’d represent a massive upgrade.
Arsenal transfer news
It’s not just midfielders that Arsenal are looking at this summer, so before getting to the player in question, it’s worth going over a couple of other stars the club are supposedly interested in, such as Viktor Gyokeres.
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The Sporting CP star was touted for a move to the Emirates last season, but recent stories have now claimed the club are now feeling confident of securing his services for around £60m, which could be a sensational bit of business as he’s racked up a haul of 47 goals and 11 assists in just 47 games this year.
Nico Williams was another international linked with the club last year and again this season.
The Athletic Bilbao superstar has enjoyed another impressive campaign in the Basque Country and now has a tally of 11 goals and seven assists in 43 appearances, so if the Gunners can get him for the reported £50m price tag, it’d represent yet more excellent business.
Yet, when it comes to potentially replacing Partey in the coming window, one name has recently appeared in the news: Eduardo Camavinga.
According to a recent report from Spain, the Gunners are now interested in signing the Real Madrid star and have already made contact to find out more information.
However, while it does not rule out a potential transfer, the story does claim that signing the Frenchman could prove complicated due to how he’s thought of by the Spanish giants. The player does boast a ridiculous £1bn release clause just to prove how much they value him.
So, to get their man, Arsenal may need to make a mega offer to sign the £206k-per-week international, but given his exceptional ability, it’d still be worth it, especially as he’d be a dream upgrade on Partey.
How Camavinga compares to Partey
So, if Arsenal are going to go all out to sign Camavinga this summer, it would almost certainly mean there will be no new deal for Partey, but how do the pair compare?
Well, one of the big advantages the Frenchman has over the Gunners’ ace is that, on top of being incredibly comfortable as a six, making 106 career appearances there, he can also play in central midfield, where he’s made 106 appearances.
In contrast, while he’s played in other roles before, the Ghanaian star is primarily just a six, having made 331 appearances there compared to 32 in central midfield.
So, if the Real ace were to come into the team, he’d provide the manager with some more versatility, and he’d be able to interchange effortlessly with Declan Rice, who also thrives in both roles.
Furthermore, when we take a look under the hood at their underlying numbers, the former Stade Rennais gem comes out way ahead in practically every relevant metric, including but not limited to non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes, shot-creating actions, ball recoveries, tackles won, interceptions, clearances, blocks, aerial duels won and more, all per 90.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.11
0.14
Non-Penalty G+As
0.20
0.15
Progressive Passes
4.94
5.56
Progressive Carries
1.90
1.22
Shots
1.13
0.75
Shots on Target
0.36
0.26
Passing Accuracy
89.8%
87.9%
Key Passes
0.86
0.64
Passes into the Final Third
5.34
5.19
Shot-Creating Actions
2.53
2.03
Goal-Creating Actions
0.17
0.42
Tackles Won
2.55
1.52
Blocks
1.90
0.92
Interceptions
1.30
1.16
Clearances
2.36
1.64
Errors Leading to a Goal
0.00
0.14
Successful Take-Ons
1.03
0.67
Ball Recoveries
6.72
4.36
Aerial Duels Won
1.55
0.92
Finally, besides having vastly superior underlying numbers and that bit more positional versatility, the “world-class” Champions League winner, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, also has time on his side.
The former Atletico Madrid ace is set to turn 32 in the summer, whereas the Cabinda-born superstar only turned 22 in November, meaning he’d help improve and future-proof Arteta’s midfield.
Ultimately, even if it costs the club a massive transfer fee, Arsenal should do all they can to sign Camavinga this summer as he is a clear and significant upgrade on Partey.
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