Why Thomas Partey is leaving Arsenal as Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta transfer plan explained

As June ends, the contracts of several Arsenal players, including Thomas Partey, have officially ended. The club released the list of players who were expected to leave, including Kieran Tierney and Jorginho, but noted that discussions were ongoing with Partey over a potential new deal.

However, those discussions have proven unsuccessful with the club unwilling to meet the player’s financial demands, and he will now depart. The club have acted swiftly in response to the loss of their two defensive midfield options, and Christian Norgaard is expected to sign to join fellow summer signing Martin Zubimendi in the side for the forthcoming season.

For much of the previous campaign, it was thought that Partey would leave, and there were no known discussions over a renewal. However, with news that Jorginho had decided that it would be his final season with the club ahead of a switch to Brazil, the club reconsidered and began discussions with Partey over potentially staying longer.

In the end, this is the right decision for Arsenal for many different reasons. Firstly, when it comes to signing a new contract, the club should look to give the deal based on what they’re going to get, not what the player has done.

Although you can make a very good inference of what you might be getting from what has occurred, when players are moving beyond 32 years old, as Partey is, there is a natural expectation of a downturn. Partey’s passes into the final per 90 third have declined over the last three seasons successively (8.37 > 6.93 > 5.4).

Pass completion was down from the previous season (89.6% > 87.4%), as was attempted passes per game (72.3 > 61.7), and shot-creating actions per 90 (2.86 > 2.00).

Blocks per 90 are down (1.02 > 0.93) and so is interceptions per 90 (1.25 > 1.13). While tackles lost per 90 are up (0.57 > 0.96), defensive errors went from zero in 2023/24 to four in 2024/25.

To garner a wage increase despite the decrease in output therefore simply did not add up and the club were fair in their stance. Especially when taking into account Partey has missed around 80 matches since joining in 2020 through injury, a factor which there is of an increased likelihood the older players tend to get.

And for those believing that Norgaard, also being 31, is just bringing in another declining player, this is a player whose passes into the final third have gone up the last three seasons (3.47 > 4.06 > 4.38), while improving his pass accuracy. He’s lost fewer tackles, made more successful tackles on dribblers, made more clearances, scored more goals and created more goals for his teammates.

Add to that he’s missed fewer matches than at the start of his time with Brentford, trending downward in terms of injury frequency and severity and that is just another plus. This decision by Arsenal, despite the complaints from some sections of the fan base, makes sense; the facts do not lie.

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