Arsenal have moved a step closer to landing the signature of Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid with a late deadline day push being made, Afriupdate understands.
Heading into deadline day, the Gunners looked to mostly be dealing with outgoing deals, however, Mikel Arteta has remained confident all summer that the club will still be active in regard to incoming deals.
“I am confident we know exactly what we want to do, that we are all trying our best to finalise the deals that we want,” he said on the eve of the deadline.
“Whether that is sending people on loan or bringing someone in, we have complete connection between myself, Edu, the board and the ownership, Let’s see what happens in the next 36 hours.
![[FILE] Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Salah (L) runs with the ball as Arsenal’s Brazilian defender Gabriel closes in during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium in London. (Photo by Catherine Ivill / POOL / AFP)](https://www.afriupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/000_97B779-scaled-e1703231851386-120x86.jpg "Liverpool host Arsenal in battle for Premier League Christmas No. 1 2")
![[FILES] Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta gestures on the touchline during the English League Cup semi-final first leg football match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on January 13, 2022. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)](https://www.afriupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/000_9W63G7-897x598-1-120x86.jpg "Pochettino advised me not to go into coaching, says Arteta 4")
Before these comments were made, however, Arsenal were made to struggle to earn a 2-1 win over Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium. One key ingredient was missing on the day and that was midfield conductor, Granit Xhaka. Since Arteta’s arrival in December, he has grown into one of the most important members of the first team.
Whatever system Arsenal play, whether it be a 3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1, he has remained in the side. Bringing balance when Arsenal are in possession as well as the ability to play through the lines with both long and short range passes, his absence is often massive on the rare occasions he doesn’t play.
This was the case yet again against Sheffield United as for the first half in particular, the Gunners truly struggled to progress up the pitch. Although there was some movement up the left flank thanks to the positions picked up by Kieran Tierney and Bukayo Saka, the right half of the pitch was stuck in second gear with Mohamed Elneny opting for the safe option too often.
In fielding a midfield without Xhaka, Arteta laid Arsenal’s midfield woes bare for all to see against the Blades, with Edu Gaspar and Vinai Venkatesham both present for the game.
Although Dani Ceballos has impressed under Arteta, the missing link has been a player to drive Arsenal into the final third, whether that be by travelling with the ball or slipping it into the path of the more dangerous players further forward. In Partey, the Gunners will be solving that issue in part as the 27-year-old will arrive as one of the few true box-to-box midfielders at the club.
Not only will this give the Arsenal boss added quality whenever Xhaka may be unavailable but looking at the initial shape of his squads, he may be afforded more flexibility with this type of midfielder added to the group.
The 3-4-3 that was adopted after the restart has become the standard for Arsenal in recent months and it must be said that the side have proven they are able to control games with this system. However, it was clear from the beginning of the restart that Arteta’s initial plans were to build on a 4-3-3 system with Xhaka at the base and a No.8. either side of him.
As the pursuit of Houssem Aouar appears to have died down, Ceballos is likely to take the more creative role in this system, but having Partey alongside them will be just as important as he will serve as an extra vehicle to push Arsenal up the pitch and impose themselves on the opposition.
He may not have wanted to highlight specific areas of the pitch after scraping a win against Sheffield United, but the Gunners boss did admit there were positions that needed improvement.
“We recognise certain positions that we believe we are short. First of all in numbers and then adding different qualities to compliment each other and this is what we are trying to do.”
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