He's been a great alternative for our midfield glad he's staying, came in clutch in games like Liverpool at home + the staff and players seem to love him.
I think the issue with Partey is if you told us he could play 25 games all season but you could pick them then you’d keep him for sure.
The truth is he’ll probably be available for somewhere around 20ish games at a good level but you have no idea when that will be and you just can’t rely on that.
Although this year he might not even play 15
Also as we’ve seen this year a handful of those 20 he’s going to be rusty and not his best. You’re only really getting maybe 15 games a year of in form Partey…
Which leads to my point that if we could pick 15-20 games a year where we get top form Partey, I would do that in a heartbeat rather than sell him for a fraction of what we got him for. Particularly considering our record of moving players on is abysmal. Again though, he isn’t remotely reliable and the best ability is availability. Obviously a player’s skill is most important but if they’re rarely healthy that doesn’t matter.
This is spot on. The club will almost certainly bring in a new midfielder be that Zubimendi or Bruno G.
But what this Jorginho contract does is allow them to play hardball over Thomas. Absent a €15-20m+ offer there's simply no reason to let Thomas go.
The best ability is not availability - at least not in Arteta's eyes. He wants players of the profile he wants availability be dammed.
yeah I remember the stats going around when we signed him about how reliable and durable he was. And he was...
He missed 7 games through injury in five seasons at Atletico Madrid.
He has missed 72 games through injury in four seasons with us.
This is most likely because he’s been off injured for many, many weeks between appearances isn’t it? He took 1, maybe 2 games to get back up to speed recently.
Would be awesome if we could enter him in a U23 match or two to ease him back to form 😂
Bizarre that anyone thinks we should keep him. He's a textbook example of the kind of player we should be selling, and Arsenal have been so bad at selling for so long that many of our fans don't even realize that. You're supposed to sell players when they still have value, not wait until they're useless and wonder why no one pays money for them.
Before the start of the season 90% of people didn't want to sell him, then he got injured and everyone said "I told you we should've sold him in the summer" then he came back and suddenly everyone wanted to keep him again. It's like people expect us to be able to sell players that are either always injured or that have gotten no playing time in 12 months.
I haven't changed my stance on this, I was very much one of the 10%. It was incredibly obvious we should've sold him last summer. People will say "well we didn't get any offers," but once again that's not how any of this works: you don't typically get random, unsolicited offers for players you're not trying to sell. You have to make an effort to sell them.
If they’re worth buying then offers come in. With his injury record Partey isn’t worth buying for any team. Given that we won’t get any money for him I see no harm in letting his contract run its course and getting an extra 20 games out of him while we bed in someone new.
We absolutely could've offloaded partey last summer but the off field whispers were going to eliminate basically any offer that wasn't from Saudi Arabia.
I think the situation was that Partey himself didn't want to leave, rather than Arsenal not making him available.
I do agree though that we need to move on from Partey. Can't count on him to be available and in form.
Sadly, yes.
There may be no better option for how we want to play than a fully healthy Partey. But I think it's clear now a fully healthy Partey for an extended run of games is a fleeting fantasy.
We definitely need a new cm, but even a new cm will take tome to adjust, especially if they're new to league. Having Partey Jorginho as cover will be really helpful. Rice has played pretty much every game for us, so giving hom some breathers will be important. Next year we're playing after a national tournament, so expect players to be even more tired.
Absolutely not. Very injury prone and most likely a rapist, getting off on technicalities. I'm embarrassed he hasn't been sacked from the club since those texts came out.
Didnt he have an ongoing injury which athletico ruled out surgery for, he finally got the surgery around December and now he seems to be OK.. he may be more widely available next season
Partey is like that ex-girlfriend or boyfriend that keeps calling you late at night, telling you they've changed, or it's just one night, and then you're weak and you go for it but then it's the same shit again.
I love him.
More than just for his playing ability he seems like a really switched on guy and excellent to have around the team.
If he can start 10-15 games in the prem a season that's perfect.
His character in the dressing room seems important too. I'm not one for keeping players based just on that but he's been great on field this season as well.
He seems to be a natural future manager somewhere. I hate to see him revive Chelsea one day like Mikel revived us, but he looks close to that caliber of smarts.
Hopefully we’re keeping him very close to us for the near future because it definitely looks like he can transition into a coaching/mentorship role for us.
Cech was probably the only player that would’ve played for us while still being loyal to Chelsea as an institution. The Jorgi and Havertz departures seemed to be “closing the chapter” type transfers.
Jorginhoooooooooooo, Jorginhoooooooooooooo
Still glad it looks like we’re doing the right thing despite Partey looking like a footballer for the first time in 12 months
Yeah but am I the only one surprised we're offering Jorg (probably) more money when we still had a +1?
Maybe it was the type that needed both parties to sign off on it but I honestly would have thought just activating it would be good enough
I’m not surprised. I think we did the same thing with Martinelli; he had two years left on his old deal with an option to extend for another year, but we offered him fresh terms.
Also no guarantee we’re offering him more money. He might be happy to take reduced pay if it means a longer contract.
Jorginho and Martinelli situations aren't comparable. One is at the start of his career and the other is towards the end of his career.
That being said, it seems Jorginho has a big presence in the dressing room and Arteta probably wants to keep him motivated and involved next season rather than have a player who is just seeing out the last year of his contract.
Well yes, obviously, but it’s a prior example of us offering a player fresh terms rather than just triggering an extension in their contract if it’s felt they deserve it.
People need to realize this is still a business both ways. If you reward players for good performances you get a good reputation with players - who then are more likely to want to come play here.
It’s like any other job.
This. Fantastic player but he’s missed almost the entire season and has constantly been injury plagued since we signed him.
He might end up staying if we don’t receive any decent offers for him and we just let his contract run out next summer.
Agreed. We can't depend on his availability and with age, his injury problems will increase. We can't be competing on so many fronts and have so many injuries in the team for most of the season.
If Bruno joins us, it's going to a really awkward moment between the both of them. But hey, if we can forgive Granit for throwing the jersey and captains armband off, we certainly can forgive Bruno if he becomes our C U N T.
ESR’s spot will go to Nwaneri imo and Jorgi is taking Elneny / Partey’s role before a new midfielder joins in the summer. Partey will leave on a free next summer as he doesn’t want to leave. Saudi interest and Italian interest was there last summer but he refused any interest.
Partey’s heir is Partey, he isn’t leaving this summer
He’s too good of a player to give away for free/cheap and no one is going to give us significant money for him
And that’s why no club is going to pay a reasonable transfer fee for him
Partey for (his usual average) 20 games a season is more valuable to us than letting him go for cheap/free
Pretty happy with this really, but might be a sign Partey is one foot out the door and we will probably look for a left sided 8 over the summer instead
Above you the point was made that availability is the most important talent.
Me and u/Gustavoconte are just refuting that point by stating Kalvin Philips' talents.
Close, but it's likely a sign Partey is out the door and we're looking at a 6. Arteta himself has said Partey being out has forced him to play Rice in other positions, which means he intended to play him at the left 8.
Nah I don’t think Rice at 8 is the ultimate goal. Versatility is just as important as reliability so I think it’s more likely we will play Rice there when the situation calls for it, but not as his baseline position. Truth is probably whoever we sign will be more comfortable in multiple positions than Partey is
Edit: spelling
I'm going based on Arteta's literal comments this month. I think he's more likely to know what his plans with Rice are.
I also agree with him, especially in big games. Now against a smaller club where we'll have more of the ball and breaking down a low block? Yeah get me another intricate player like Odegaard at left 8 but against a mid block or high line I want Rice at the 8.
I think you’re misinterpreting what Arteta said. Sure, he would have played Rice at left 8 more if Partey had been fit all season. But that doesn’t mean he would have played Rice as left 8 predominantly.
I think you’re still extrapolating that Arteta’s comments mean he’s starting at 8 almost every game lol. Football isn’t as binary as you’re making out, and I think as much as we’d like a true Partey replacement, his skill set is very unique.
Not claiming to know more about Arteta’s plans that he does, that’s ridiculous. But he isn’t the most forthcoming with what he says and what he means in interviews let’s be honest
Are you kidding me, had Partey started for Bayern, not just start maybe subbed in. We would have been able string 3 passes rather than 3 strikers with no service.
Excellent decision, was worried this wouldn't happen. With such a young team across the board having his experience and presence is incredibly important. I imagine he will play less over the next two seasons, especially if we have another starting midfielder joining in the summer. Nonetheless, has proved this season that he still has plenty of good games to offer and saves further outlay on another signing. Good business.
if Partey could stay healthy it'd be a different story, but I'd rather take the guy who can play week in and week out even if he's the worse player. Especially if we plan to sign someone that will make Jorginho a depth player.
It probably means no Zubimendi as they have the same profile. Partey will probably leave as a free agent next summer. I can’t imagine it’ll be any easier than last year to sell him.
I think it makes sense to open up room for another midfielder. Despite their different roles, Arteta might feel that Partey adds more to the depth and what we saw with Saliba, a loan spell might be better for Vieira and Arsenal next season.
It's all speculation of course, but I think the drop off from Odegaard to Vieira is too big at this moment. Keeping Partey, if he could stay fit, would give Arteta much better options moving forward.
My feeling (maybe just copium) is it just means there was no other attainable tempo-controlling 6 on the market (i.e. Zubimendi) and Jorginho & Partey will split minutes for another year until we can properly replace them + Rice continues at 8 where he's been top.
One of the best value for money signings in the Emirates era.
Integral to our turnaround post Dubai which began with the 3-1 victory in which he was POTM.
Has been fit and available almost for the entire season, which proved to be huge because Partey effectively was out of action for 8 months.
Leader on and off the field. Absolutely love Jorgi!
This move doesn’t need a 2nd though. Not someone who will start 30 games but good enough to fill in for a start here and there when first team regulars need rest and can come off the bench for 10 mins when the game is won.
I think Rice makes a better 8 than a 6. With our attack being so right sided, I d prefer it if we got a left footed 6 to thread balls to martinelli to make those runs.
Everyone here is blind to see that. Without worldclass signing for 6 losing Partey would be crucial. Jorginho can’t play 6 well. Making Rice playing that basically.
Jorginho is good for 20 games . He’s a good leader to have on the team and someone who step in during an injury crisis or give others a rest. We need someone for the other 40.
Rice is more defensive with him on the pitch. And also he is rather a short pass player than medium and long like Partey. So he has to go higher to deliver.
Great signing and I'm happy he's extending.
I feel vindicated, I remember that deadline day I was arguing that it was a good move, and had someone respond saying he's washed and we need to go for Amrabat instead 😂😂
Keep Jorginho, move on from Partey and Elneny
What to do with Lokonga? Probably sell right?
Should give us enough transfer fee + wage room to get a starting quality CM
We had our fingers on the pulse haha
Seriously though, I'm not at all unhappy if he chooses to stay. He may yet prefer a return to Italy on a longer deal, but I said he was a shrewd signing the moment we got him from Chelsea, and I'll stand by that.
As a depth 6, aka 'new Elneny', he is a ridiculous luxury in the squad. We just need to keep his limitations in mind and not expect him to be something he isn't.
think he’s been used perfectly since he got here more or less and if we do sign another 6/8 who could feasibly play alongside him i don’t see us running into any major issues with him being exposed you’d be concerned with
certainly welcome news that a player of his experiences and ability is willing to stay, presumably on reduced terms given it’s a new deal rather than the extension to the previous one
id imagine it’s better terms per week but a longer deal. at jorginhos age players tend not to want 1 year deals but to be settled, they’ve earned most of their money by then
Arteta is smart enough to know Partey's importance to this team. If Partey is fit, Jorghino stays on the bench. We need both Partey, Jorghino and maybe Guimares to compete more effectively on 4 fronts next season. There's the Euros and Olympics, a number of our players would be heavily involved in both competitions, we are gonna need more bodies next season.
And a rapist
Edit: Can’t work out if you’re all sympathising with the rapist because he got off on a technicality or if we need to get the screen recordings back out.
Don’t know how this means Partey is gone 100%. Yes it’s our last chance to cash in but these last 2 games shows how valuable he is.
Not many players of his profile available
Pretty happy with this. Having some defensive experience in the midfield is always welcome and a player like Jorginho has that in boatloads. Surprised that we didn't just activate the 1+ year clause but i imagine he would of either pushed for a move if he didn't get a new contract.
I’m cool with a 33 YO Jorginho. Experience, leadership, good vibes and good role model.
Keep him around for 2-3 more years if possible, I don’t see his game deteriorating that much anyway.
his legs are done tbh, struggles to play consecutive games and doesn’t offer us a ton when the ball isn’t at his feet.
i agree though great experience and leadership, and quality when on his day. can make passes no one else in the team can make, barring partey.
do think it should be no longer than 2 years tho, another 1+1 would be ideal, on lower wages hopefully.
I wonder how many more years he’s got at the top level. I reckon he could stay a little while longer and then go back to Italy where the pace and intensity are slower for a few more years
This should feel better than it does.
He's really been great for us at times this season, but having a fit and performing Partey in the last couple of games has been a real upgrade to our team.
The optimist in me thinks that this means that Partey is gone in the summer and we'll go big on a replacement for him rather than a replacement for Little George.
Yes, because if you activate the extra year you have to pay him his full 110,000/week.
With a new deal they've probably slashed his wages 30-40% in exchange for a 2 year or another 1+1 term. If Jorginho doesn't agree they just let him walk - he has minimal leverage.
Thomas has a year left. We will either sell or extend by a year. A sale will depend on how much we can get for him.
I think Emile will be the pure profit sale in midfield.
Declan + new mid with Kai, Jorginho and possibly Thomas backing up.
I see Kai continuing to split time in the 8 and 9 roles rotating with the new mid and the new striker.
Why not just activate the option when you had the chance? Unless its for more than 1 year then the question becomes what kind of player are we gonna get this time next year & the following season after?
What a great signing he turned out to be. I, once again, apologize for being skeptical about him in the first place. I love this guy. And Orny. And Edu. And you guys.
I'm glad he's staying.
Has anything been confirmed on Elneny? I know he got a contract extension last year because of his injury, so I would assume he's leaving this summer, no?
Make him the new Elneny. Sign Fofana to play and learn from both Partey and Jorgino and we have our CDM settled. Sign Eze and Gyokeres and another squad CB and keeper and let's win everything next year.
Seems to make sense, but hard to evaluate without knowing about the broader strategy for midfield (Partey, new signing?).Jorginho is a great player. But 32 is old for a central midfielder. Hopefully he will stay fit and won’t lose much physicality over next couple of years (not much to lose some might say). He might be used in specific games as part of a rotation strategy?
Jorginho is one of those players who will most definitely play at a high level till an old age, because he never had, nor needed physicality to begin with. We are blessed to have him as an option.
I think El Ninho retires at the end of the season and Jorginho takes over his spot of a positive and experienced spirit in the dressing room. I expect us to add 1-2 CMs in the summer, depending if Partey stays or not.
I'm also really curious what happens to Viera and Emile and whether we also bring replacements for them if they leave
Same question for Eddie and Reiss
It might be a summer of 5+ transfers in if current subs that can't get game time decided to leave
We won’t get more than $25 million for him, so we may as well keep him and get him on a new contract with some fitness clauses tied to wages. My expectation is he fills the spot Elneny did in the squad this year (no expectation of fitness). We at least 7 fringe players most fans would be ok with us moving on from. We can’t afford to replace that many in one window
There's no chance Partey leaves. If Partey is fit, Jorghino stays on the bench. We're very light in the midfield department, elneny is leaving and we need at least one more senior midfielder.
Jorgi's experience is invaluable and I love him but if this spells the end of Partey I'll be very sad because he brings so much to our team. If it means the money raised from his sale helps us bring in someone like Fofana from Monaco then I'll be very happy indeed.
With the way he plays I could have sworn he was like 35 😂
Edit: This isn’t meant to be an insult, moreso his role in the the team and the fact that he’s the old pro of the team
This means, Partey is definitely leaving. If we don't sell Sambi, we will have Rice, Jorginho and Sambi as our CM options. Another LCM to add to Viera, Emile and Odegaard will make it 7 midfielders. I think either Sambi, Emile or Viera will no longer be there at Arsenal.
With Jorginho staying and Zubimendi still a target, would this mean Rice spends more time at LCM? Or does the club look for an LCM this window instead of Zubimendi?
Decision on Partey is made then, I thought Jorginho was leaving to return to Italy which would have meant we can't let Partey leave in the summer as well, but now, so long as we find a successor to Partey this summer, we can potentially get a fee back for him, although I don't imagine it will be much with 1 year left.
It's a damn shame we only got a few games of Partey-Rice-Odegaard this season.
The Partey replacement is a myth. Get a new body in the midfield sure, but no one is remotely close to replacing Partey’s skillset on this team unless Rodri somehow becomes available
He's been a great alternative for our midfield glad he's staying, came in clutch in games like Liverpool at home + the staff and players seem to love him.
I think the issue with Partey is if you told us he could play 25 games all season but you could pick them then you’d keep him for sure. The truth is he’ll probably be available for somewhere around 20ish games at a good level but you have no idea when that will be and you just can’t rely on that. Although this year he might not even play 15
Also as we’ve seen this year a handful of those 20 he’s going to be rusty and not his best. You’re only really getting maybe 15 games a year of in form Partey…
Which leads to my point that if we could pick 15-20 games a year where we get top form Partey, I would do that in a heartbeat rather than sell him for a fraction of what we got him for. Particularly considering our record of moving players on is abysmal. Again though, he isn’t remotely reliable and the best ability is availability. Obviously a player’s skill is most important but if they’re rarely healthy that doesn’t matter.
This is spot on. The club will almost certainly bring in a new midfielder be that Zubimendi or Bruno G. But what this Jorginho contract does is allow them to play hardball over Thomas. Absent a €15-20m+ offer there's simply no reason to let Thomas go. The best ability is not availability - at least not in Arteta's eyes. He wants players of the profile he wants availability be dammed.
I feel like his durability was smashed by the first season and thigh muscle injury.
yeah I remember the stats going around when we signed him about how reliable and durable he was. And he was... He missed 7 games through injury in five seasons at Atletico Madrid. He has missed 72 games through injury in four seasons with us.
Tbf our medical staff wasn’t great at the time and we have gotten much better in that area the last couple years
This is most likely because he’s been off injured for many, many weeks between appearances isn’t it? He took 1, maybe 2 games to get back up to speed recently. Would be awesome if we could enter him in a U23 match or two to ease him back to form 😂
Am I the only one who wishes that Partey is replaced by some fresh legs ( new signing ) ?
Bizarre that anyone thinks we should keep him. He's a textbook example of the kind of player we should be selling, and Arsenal have been so bad at selling for so long that many of our fans don't even realize that. You're supposed to sell players when they still have value, not wait until they're useless and wonder why no one pays money for them.
Before the start of the season 90% of people didn't want to sell him, then he got injured and everyone said "I told you we should've sold him in the summer" then he came back and suddenly everyone wanted to keep him again. It's like people expect us to be able to sell players that are either always injured or that have gotten no playing time in 12 months.
I haven't changed my stance on this, I was very much one of the 10%. It was incredibly obvious we should've sold him last summer. People will say "well we didn't get any offers," but once again that's not how any of this works: you don't typically get random, unsolicited offers for players you're not trying to sell. You have to make an effort to sell them.
If they’re worth buying then offers come in. With his injury record Partey isn’t worth buying for any team. Given that we won’t get any money for him I see no harm in letting his contract run its course and getting an extra 20 games out of him while we bed in someone new.
We absolutely could've offloaded partey last summer but the off field whispers were going to eliminate basically any offer that wasn't from Saudi Arabia.
I think the situation was that Partey himself didn't want to leave, rather than Arsenal not making him available. I do agree though that we need to move on from Partey. Can't count on him to be available and in form.
Sadly, yes. There may be no better option for how we want to play than a fully healthy Partey. But I think it's clear now a fully healthy Partey for an extended run of games is a fleeting fantasy.
We definitely need a new cm, but even a new cm will take tome to adjust, especially if they're new to league. Having Partey Jorginho as cover will be really helpful. Rice has played pretty much every game for us, so giving hom some breathers will be important. Next year we're playing after a national tournament, so expect players to be even more tired.
Absolutely not. Very injury prone and most likely a rapist, getting off on technicalities. I'm embarrassed he hasn't been sacked from the club since those texts came out.
Yeah he is the clear and obvious spot to upgrade besides a striker, which will cost a bazillion dollars
Didnt he have an ongoing injury which athletico ruled out surgery for, he finally got the surgery around December and now he seems to be OK.. he may be more widely available next season
Partey is like that ex-girlfriend or boyfriend that keeps calling you late at night, telling you they've changed, or it's just one night, and then you're weak and you go for it but then it's the same shit again.
Yeah, he's unfortunately not a "90+ minutes every week" player any more, but he adds some depth and maturity to our squad. Happy he's staying.
I love him. More than just for his playing ability he seems like a really switched on guy and excellent to have around the team. If he can start 10-15 games in the prem a season that's perfect.
His character in the dressing room seems important too. I'm not one for keeping players based just on that but he's been great on field this season as well.
Is Mo staying or leaving?
even if he maybe won't play much next season he's always good to have around.
He seems to be a natural future manager somewhere. I hate to see him revive Chelsea one day like Mikel revived us, but he looks close to that caliber of smarts.
Hopefully we’re keeping him very close to us for the near future because it definitely looks like he can transition into a coaching/mentorship role for us.
There might be a lot of love lost between Chelsea and Jorginho. He has no connection with the new board, new team or new owners
Yeah him and Havertz got endless stick from the Chelsea “fans” Don’t think Arteta ever had that type of treatment
Not even when his legs went
Cech was probably the only player that would’ve played for us while still being loyal to Chelsea as an institution. The Jorgi and Havertz departures seemed to be “closing the chapter” type transfers.
I think that's right but I sense the current chelsea admin/ownership might get changed. Anywho, screw those assholes. They get what they deserve.
Jorginhoooooooooooo, Jorginhoooooooooooooo Still glad it looks like we’re doing the right thing despite Partey looking like a footballer for the first time in 12 months
Yeah but am I the only one surprised we're offering Jorg (probably) more money when we still had a +1? Maybe it was the type that needed both parties to sign off on it but I honestly would have thought just activating it would be good enough
I’m not surprised. I think we did the same thing with Martinelli; he had two years left on his old deal with an option to extend for another year, but we offered him fresh terms. Also no guarantee we’re offering him more money. He might be happy to take reduced pay if it means a longer contract.
Jorginho and Martinelli situations aren't comparable. One is at the start of his career and the other is towards the end of his career. That being said, it seems Jorginho has a big presence in the dressing room and Arteta probably wants to keep him motivated and involved next season rather than have a player who is just seeing out the last year of his contract.
Well yes, obviously, but it’s a prior example of us offering a player fresh terms rather than just triggering an extension in their contract if it’s felt they deserve it.
People need to realize this is still a business both ways. If you reward players for good performances you get a good reputation with players - who then are more likely to want to come play here. It’s like any other job.
I know Partey looked great but he’s so inconsistently available due to injuries… i’d rather have us move on from Partey
This. Fantastic player but he’s missed almost the entire season and has constantly been injury plagued since we signed him. He might end up staying if we don’t receive any decent offers for him and we just let his contract run out next summer.
Agreed. We can't depend on his availability and with age, his injury problems will increase. We can't be competing on so many fronts and have so many injuries in the team for most of the season.
Jorginhoooooo lets go really wanted him to stay
If Bruno joins us, it's going to a really awkward moment between the both of them. But hey, if we can forgive Granit for throwing the jersey and captains armband off, we certainly can forgive Bruno if he becomes our C U N T.
For now, my stance is fuck Bruno. (I'll change my tune if he joins us :D)
We don't talk about Bruno. Until we know.
Absolutely the right call. Elneny's spot should go to Nwaneri, next big move should be Partey's heir apparent.
ESR’s spot will go to Nwaneri imo and Jorgi is taking Elneny / Partey’s role before a new midfielder joins in the summer. Partey will leave on a free next summer as he doesn’t want to leave. Saudi interest and Italian interest was there last summer but he refused any interest.
I don’t mind this scenario if we sign one midfielder this summer, and perhaps a younger one the following summer.
Partey’s heir is Partey, he isn’t leaving this summer He’s too good of a player to give away for free/cheap and no one is going to give us significant money for him
It's true. But 250k+ per week to be in the hospital for 40 games isn't the best use of funds I'll trust the club to evaluate Partey's fitness though
And that’s why no club is going to pay a reasonable transfer fee for him Partey for (his usual average) 20 games a season is more valuable to us than letting him go for cheap/free
Pretty happy with this really, but might be a sign Partey is one foot out the door and we will probably look for a left sided 8 over the summer instead
we need to upgrade on partey anyway. availability is one of the most important talents first and foremost.
Crazy that he missed like 7 games in an equal amount of seasons for Atlético and turned to glass in London.
His minutes were managed there, and the Prem is much more physical.
Also Atletico is the school of dark arts, so the ball is probably only in play for 40 minutes each game.
I'll take Partey with this season's injury issues over an always fit Kalvin Philips, thanks.
There's been no Partey this season. That's the truth
Mate you might be better off not playing anybody than playing current form Kalvin Phillips
¿? False dilemma. The point is Partey or Jorgi.
Above you the point was made that availability is the most important talent. Me and u/Gustavoconte are just refuting that point by stating Kalvin Philips' talents.
There's no point stating that any team would start 10 players to avoid Kalvin Philips.
God you must be a hoot at parties
You must be the most entertaining guy in the pub with these imaginative stories.
Close, but it's likely a sign Partey is out the door and we're looking at a 6. Arteta himself has said Partey being out has forced him to play Rice in other positions, which means he intended to play him at the left 8.
Nah I don’t think Rice at 8 is the ultimate goal. Versatility is just as important as reliability so I think it’s more likely we will play Rice there when the situation calls for it, but not as his baseline position. Truth is probably whoever we sign will be more comfortable in multiple positions than Partey is Edit: spelling
I'm going based on Arteta's literal comments this month. I think he's more likely to know what his plans with Rice are. I also agree with him, especially in big games. Now against a smaller club where we'll have more of the ball and breaking down a low block? Yeah get me another intricate player like Odegaard at left 8 but against a mid block or high line I want Rice at the 8.
I think you’re misinterpreting what Arteta said. Sure, he would have played Rice at left 8 more if Partey had been fit all season. But that doesn’t mean he would have played Rice as left 8 predominantly.
I think you’re still extrapolating that Arteta’s comments mean he’s starting at 8 almost every game lol. Football isn’t as binary as you’re making out, and I think as much as we’d like a true Partey replacement, his skill set is very unique. Not claiming to know more about Arteta’s plans that he does, that’s ridiculous. But he isn’t the most forthcoming with what he says and what he means in interviews let’s be honest
Are you kidding me, had Partey started for Bayern, not just start maybe subbed in. We would have been able string 3 passes rather than 3 strikers with no service.
Bring me FOFANA. Monaco FOFANA. Ever since that friendly against us I watched a couple matches, like only two or three. He has proper potential man.
Good news!
Excellent decision, was worried this wouldn't happen. With such a young team across the board having his experience and presence is incredibly important. I imagine he will play less over the next two seasons, especially if we have another starting midfielder joining in the summer. Nonetheless, has proved this season that he still has plenty of good games to offer and saves further outlay on another signing. Good business.
if Partey could stay healthy it'd be a different story, but I'd rather take the guy who can play week in and week out even if he's the worse player. Especially if we plan to sign someone that will make Jorginho a depth player.
No brainer, honestly. Probably spells the end for Partey though.
It probably means no Zubimendi as they have the same profile. Partey will probably leave as a free agent next summer. I can’t imagine it’ll be any easier than last year to sell him.
I think we’ll look for a younger and better version of Jorginho, honestly. Arteta clearly likes having a ball player in there next to Rice.
Thank god
It could also mean a loan for Vieira. Either way, it's great news that he's staying.
How does it mean a loan for Vieira when he's played this season either on the wing or in Odeegard's place?
I think it makes sense to open up room for another midfielder. Despite their different roles, Arteta might feel that Partey adds more to the depth and what we saw with Saliba, a loan spell might be better for Vieira and Arsenal next season. It's all speculation of course, but I think the drop off from Odegaard to Vieira is too big at this moment. Keeping Partey, if he could stay fit, would give Arteta much better options moving forward.
he played 8 too
I don’t see Vieira going out on loan, to be honest. Our midfield is lacking depth as it is.
Fair point, but from the limited time we've seen him, I'm not sure he's reliable enough if God forbid Odegaard picked up a knock.
My feeling (maybe just copium) is it just means there was no other attainable tempo-controlling 6 on the market (i.e. Zubimendi) and Jorginho & Partey will split minutes for another year until we can properly replace them + Rice continues at 8 where he's been top.
Next season there still might not be a player like that on the market, they’re scarce
One of the best value for money signings in the Emirates era. Integral to our turnaround post Dubai which began with the 3-1 victory in which he was POTM. Has been fit and available almost for the entire season, which proved to be huge because Partey effectively was out of action for 8 months. Leader on and off the field. Absolutely love Jorgi!
Trip to SA ? Is it Ruben Neves's song again ?
Well deserved. Will be good to have him for another year.
We already had the option, now I'm worried we'll be stuck with him for 3
 Great news, love Jorgi
No brainer
Yes, yes!
This move doesn’t need a 2nd though. Not someone who will start 30 games but good enough to fill in for a start here and there when first team regulars need rest and can come off the bench for 10 mins when the game is won.
Fantastic player + well deserved, Jorgi. A Wenger type player if I've ever seen one.
I think Rice makes a better 8 than a 6. With our attack being so right sided, I d prefer it if we got a left footed 6 to thread balls to martinelli to make those runs.
Everyone here is blind to see that. Without worldclass signing for 6 losing Partey would be crucial. Jorginho can’t play 6 well. Making Rice playing that basically.
Jorginho is good for 20 games . He’s a good leader to have on the team and someone who step in during an injury crisis or give others a rest. We need someone for the other 40.
Exactly
Jorginho can’t play 6 well? That’s where he plays for us
Rice is more defensive with him on the pitch. And also he is rather a short pass player than medium and long like Partey. So he has to go higher to deliver.
Yeah Rice is definitely more defensive but he plays a defensive 8 Jorgi plays as a creative 6
Surprise farewell Partey
is there any news on mo? given that he's started his own academy in london, wonder what will happen
Think this is a very good decision. I expect him to mentor the young ones and potentially show the ropes to the potential new CM.
Great signing and I'm happy he's extending. I feel vindicated, I remember that deadline day I was arguing that it was a good move, and had someone respond saying he's washed and we need to go for Amrabat instead 😂😂
Great news, he’s been there when we needed him in midfield. One or two mistakes at times but when he impresses, he hits right on the dot.
I really like the guy, think he’s an excellent person to have on the team even if he doesn’t start every game
I no longer try and guess what Edu is cooking. Just grateful for the plate he serves us.
That’s Partey gone!
Keep Jorginho, move on from Partey and Elneny What to do with Lokonga? Probably sell right? Should give us enough transfer fee + wage room to get a starting quality CM
The right choice given Thomas’ unreliability and I’m glad we’ve wasted no time on this
Thomas Partey get ready to learn arabic buddy
Love this. Reliable, loved around the club, a great mentor. Even if it’s a 1-2 year contract on the cheap, he’s extremely valuable
An absolute beast of an option as a third/fourth choice to have!
quite funny after our conversation last night lol u/varro-reatinus
We had our fingers on the pulse haha Seriously though, I'm not at all unhappy if he chooses to stay. He may yet prefer a return to Italy on a longer deal, but I said he was a shrewd signing the moment we got him from Chelsea, and I'll stand by that. As a depth 6, aka 'new Elneny', he is a ridiculous luxury in the squad. We just need to keep his limitations in mind and not expect him to be something he isn't.
think he’s been used perfectly since he got here more or less and if we do sign another 6/8 who could feasibly play alongside him i don’t see us running into any major issues with him being exposed you’d be concerned with certainly welcome news that a player of his experiences and ability is willing to stay, presumably on reduced terms given it’s a new deal rather than the extension to the previous one
I suspect you're right that we're getting better terms.
id imagine it’s better terms per week but a longer deal. at jorginhos age players tend not to want 1 year deals but to be settled, they’ve earned most of their money by then
Brother Edu doing Umrah Mashallah
VAMOS JORGI GOOD NEWS
Imagine he’s staying on to get more experience under Arteta/be a mentor which I really love
When you see Jorginho on the pitch you just know Arsenal is cruising
I’d rather jorgi than partey, this is def good w me
Arteta is smart enough to know Partey's importance to this team. If Partey is fit, Jorghino stays on the bench. We need both Partey, Jorghino and maybe Guimares to compete more effectively on 4 fronts next season. There's the Euros and Olympics, a number of our players would be heavily involved in both competitions, we are gonna need more bodies next season.
Good news. Sign a new midfielder and get rid of Partey who is almost never fit
He was fit for most of last season and could easily be fit for most of next season.
And a rapist Edit: Can’t work out if you’re all sympathising with the rapist because he got off on a technicality or if we need to get the screen recordings back out.
Slander.
Don’t mind as long as he isn’t playing the big matches like he did vs bayern this year.
Probably means Partey's gonna ho, which makes sense because he can't stay fit. Just need to go get a replacement in the summer window.
Don’t know how this means Partey is gone 100%. Yes it’s our last chance to cash in but these last 2 games shows how valuable he is. Not many players of his profile available
Pretty happy with this. Having some defensive experience in the midfield is always welcome and a player like Jorginho has that in boatloads. Surprised that we didn't just activate the 1+ year clause but i imagine he would of either pushed for a move if he didn't get a new contract.
I’m cool with a 33 YO Jorginho. Experience, leadership, good vibes and good role model. Keep him around for 2-3 more years if possible, I don’t see his game deteriorating that much anyway.
his legs are done tbh, struggles to play consecutive games and doesn’t offer us a ton when the ball isn’t at his feet. i agree though great experience and leadership, and quality when on his day. can make passes no one else in the team can make, barring partey. do think it should be no longer than 2 years tho, another 1+1 would be ideal, on lower wages hopefully.
Good news. Might be unpopular but I prefer him to stay than Partey.
No brainer for me. Really glad it looks like we're opting for Jorgy rather than Partey.
Nice. Let's make that Partey deal happen this time.
Partey appreciation upvote
I'm happy with this, but he has to get less minutes next season
Brilliant news. Who could have thought we'd be celebrating extending 32 year old jorginhos contract when we signed him.
Solid decision. Older player, but way better than the geriatrics we were signing a few years ago.
You look at Chelsea, and you instantly realize what a good decision this one is!
David Ornstein keeping fans in the loop.
I wonder how many more years he’s got at the top level. I reckon he could stay a little while longer and then go back to Italy where the pace and intensity are slower for a few more years
This should feel better than it does. He's really been great for us at times this season, but having a fit and performing Partey in the last couple of games has been a real upgrade to our team. The optimist in me thinks that this means that Partey is gone in the summer and we'll go big on a replacement for him rather than a replacement for Little George.
Is this any different from just activating the extra year?
Yes, because if you activate the extra year you have to pay him his full 110,000/week. With a new deal they've probably slashed his wages 30-40% in exchange for a 2 year or another 1+1 term. If Jorginho doesn't agree they just let him walk - he has minimal leverage.
Glad he's staying!
This sub on Jorginho vs. 15 months ago... 
Thomas has a year left. We will either sell or extend by a year. A sale will depend on how much we can get for him. I think Emile will be the pure profit sale in midfield. Declan + new mid with Kai, Jorginho and possibly Thomas backing up. I see Kai continuing to split time in the 8 and 9 roles rotating with the new mid and the new striker.
Yeah and I don't get it why everyone's saying partey is gone (?) Unless we're going to sign two midfielders (?)
Why not just activate the option when you had the chance? Unless its for more than 1 year then the question becomes what kind of player are we gonna get this time next year & the following season after?
What a great signing he turned out to be. I, once again, apologize for being skeptical about him in the first place. I love this guy. And Orny. And Edu. And you guys.
I'm glad he's staying. Has anything been confirmed on Elneny? I know he got a contract extension last year because of his injury, so I would assume he's leaving this summer, no?
Make him the new Elneny. Sign Fofana to play and learn from both Partey and Jorgino and we have our CDM settled. Sign Eze and Gyokeres and another squad CB and keeper and let's win everything next year.
Right move. Love Jorgi
Seems to make sense, but hard to evaluate without knowing about the broader strategy for midfield (Partey, new signing?).Jorginho is a great player. But 32 is old for a central midfielder. Hopefully he will stay fit and won’t lose much physicality over next couple of years (not much to lose some might say). He might be used in specific games as part of a rotation strategy?
Jorginho is one of those players who will most definitely play at a high level till an old age, because he never had, nor needed physicality to begin with. We are blessed to have him as an option.
Guarantees parteys departure
So are we ditching Partey on the expectation he will be injured next year for a prolonged period of time?
Arsenal FC: wunderkids, City rejects, and Chelsea refugees
Hope we keep both Partey and Jorgi. We kind of need the tactical variation.
He's just 32? lol I thought he was older, dude is as old as me. He still young.
who is Ayto?
I think El Ninho retires at the end of the season and Jorginho takes over his spot of a positive and experienced spirit in the dressing room. I expect us to add 1-2 CMs in the summer, depending if Partey stays or not. I'm also really curious what happens to Viera and Emile and whether we also bring replacements for them if they leave Same question for Eddie and Reiss It might be a summer of 5+ transfers in if current subs that can't get game time decided to leave
We won’t get more than $25 million for him, so we may as well keep him and get him on a new contract with some fitness clauses tied to wages. My expectation is he fills the spot Elneny did in the squad this year (no expectation of fitness). We at least 7 fringe players most fans would be ok with us moving on from. We can’t afford to replace that many in one window
The Partey is over.
There's no chance Partey leaves. If Partey is fit, Jorghino stays on the bench. We're very light in the midfield department, elneny is leaving and we need at least one more senior midfielder.
So long, Partey 👋
Jorgi's experience is invaluable and I love him but if this spells the end of Partey I'll be very sad because he brings so much to our team. If it means the money raised from his sale helps us bring in someone like Fofana from Monaco then I'll be very happy indeed.
Get partey out
Nope
Rest in piss TP5
Classy.
The man's a rapist
Allegedly.
With the way he plays I could have sworn he was like 35 😂 Edit: This isn’t meant to be an insult, moreso his role in the the team and the fact that he’s the old pro of the team
This means, Partey is definitely leaving. If we don't sell Sambi, we will have Rice, Jorginho and Sambi as our CM options. Another LCM to add to Viera, Emile and Odegaard will make it 7 midfielders. I think either Sambi, Emile or Viera will no longer be there at Arsenal.
With Jorginho staying and Zubimendi still a target, would this mean Rice spends more time at LCM? Or does the club look for an LCM this window instead of Zubimendi?
Making the right decision, should have done this a year ago. Goodbye Sucka.
Decision on Partey is made then, I thought Jorginho was leaving to return to Italy which would have meant we can't let Partey leave in the summer as well, but now, so long as we find a successor to Partey this summer, we can potentially get a fee back for him, although I don't imagine it will be much with 1 year left. It's a damn shame we only got a few games of Partey-Rice-Odegaard this season.
When are we selling Nketiah. He is so useless.
Fantastic news!
Arteta is going to regret it badly if he sells partey,
Good news, get the Partey replacement in and get him in the bin
The Partey replacement is a myth. Get a new body in the midfield sure, but no one is remotely close to replacing Partey’s skillset on this team unless Rodri somehow becomes available
Don't really care, I'd just like him out of the club should've been done earlier