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Thomas Partey is a player Arsenal have been trying to move on from for a long time now. The Gunners were actively trying to sell him in the first part of the window last summer before ultimately deciding to keep him when no suitable offer presented itself.

It seems they are preparing to do the same this summer with the likes of Martin Zubimendi being lined up as potential long term replacements and a contract extension for Jorginho on the table. One man who seems desperate to keep him around though is Mikel Arteta.

It was widely assumed that the club-record arrival of Declan Rice would spell the end of Partey’s Arsenal career. Rice is viewed as a long-term stalwart in the six, so how could the two possibly coexist? Arteta was adamant that he had the answer.

“They was in my plans,” he said when asked if the pair could play together all the way back in July. “If you want to improve the squad and have more quality, we need more players who can play together and need players in the same positions who have to fight for their places. It’s something we haven’t had in the last few years.”

One of the first chances he got, Arteta showed just how well this midifield could work. Partey, Rice and Martin Odegaard starred for an Arsenal team that more than matched Manchester City in the Community Shield. It was a window into the future, but sadly one that would be short lived.

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Injuries elsewhere in the squad forced Partey out to right back and the Ghanaian was injured before we could see the midfield again for some time. There was a false dawn as Partey, Rice and

Mikel Arteta Martin Odegaard Thomas Partey Kai Havertz Martin Zubimendi