Mikel Arteta says he wants Thomas Partey to stay at Arsenal and claims the midfielder remains part of his plans going forward.
Partey has been linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium, with Saudi club Al-Ahli interested in signing the Ghana international. Arsenal's £105million capture of Declan Rice from West Ham suggested Arteta was ready to let Partey go, but the Gunners boss said he wants the 30-year-old to stay.
“Thomas Partey is a super important player for us and for me and we want him to be in the team, that’s for sure,” said Arteta.
Asked if Rice had been bought to replace Partey, Arteta responded by claiming the pair can play alongside each other in central midfield.
“Yeah, they can play together,” said Arteta. “That was in my plans. If you want to improve the squad and have more quality, we need players who can play together.
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“We need players in the same positions who have to fight for their places and that’s something we haven’t had over the last few years. We want to improve that and that’s why we brought in Declan as well.”
Asked if he expected Partey to stay, Arteta said: “Yes. Every time I spoke to him and had a conversation with him, he’s ready to stay with us. For me, there’s nothing there at all.”
Arteta believes next season will be even harder for Arsenal, after pushing so hard in the title race last season, before being overtaken by champions Manchester City on the home straight.
Thomas Partey has been linked with an Arsenal exit“It will be harder, for sure, because the level is going to go up and the teams are getting better and the league is getting stronger, so it’s only going to get harder,” said Arteta.
“We have to be better, play better and do things better than we did last year and that’s what we’re working on at the moment.
“I think what happened last season was probably necessary to learn the lessons that you have to learn to get better and be successful and achieve what we want to achieve.
“So it’s part of that road and that journey. We know the complexity of the league and the rivals that we have, but I’m sure they don’t want to play us.”
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