Thomas Partey not finding it funny at Emirates

Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is no longer finding life palatable at the Emirates it has been revealed and is considering and exit next year

The former Atletico Madrid man’s partnership with Granit Xhaka blossomed in the 2022-23 season, as Arsenal came agonisingly close to dethroning champions Manchester City.

Partey also largely managed to shake off the injury woes that had bedevilled him during his early days at the Emirates, but Xhaka’s switch to Bayer Leverkusen complicated Mikel Arteta’s selection dilemma in midfield

Declan Rice and Kai Havertz arrived for a combined £170m to bolster Arsenal’s engine room, and both quickly cemented regular starting roles in the first XI alongside captain and mainstay Martin Odegaard.

Partey was subsequently tipped to follow Xhaka out of the exit door amid interest from Juventus and clubs in Saudi Arabia, but Arteta vetoed an exit for the Ghana international, who still has two years left to run on his contract

However, since the 2023-24 season commenced, Partey has only made four Premier League appearances, starting the Gunners’ first three games of the new term in an unfamiliar right-back role before picking up a groin injury.

So far in October, Partey has been an unused substitute in clashes with Chelsea and Lens – both of which Arsenal failed to win while earning just 15 minutes off the bench in a 1-0 win over Manchester City.

Jorginho has been preferred as the deepest-lying midfielder over the past few weeks, and Partey was nowhere to be seen in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Sevilla due to a fresh muscular concern.

The Gunners paid £43.5m to bring Partey to the club in the last knocking of the summer 2020 window, and the 30-year-old now boasts five goals and four assists from 104 games for the North London club, winning one Community Shield in the process.