Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Lee Wilmot

'Thomas Partey to Arsenal confirmed' - Fans go nuts as Atletico ace benched for Leipzig clash

All Arsenal eyes this evening will be on the Champions League clash between RB Leipzig and Atletico Madrid.

Not only one, but two potential transfer targets are ion action in the Champions League quarter-final encounter.

For the German side, long-term defensive target Dayot Upamecano and for the Spanish side midfielder Thomas Partey.

Partey has emerged this summer as one of head coach Mikel Arteta's top transfer priorities, but the Gunners will have to raise funds to sign him, by offloading some players.

Partey has a £43million price tag on his shoulders, with Atletico Madrid unwilling to budge on that valuation.

Art de Roche on Aubameyang's deal, Willian and Ceballos latest

The coronavirus pandemic has hit Arsenal hard, with the club making 55 staff members redundant in the last few weeks.

With question marks over the futures of Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, Arteta is in the market for midfield reinforcements, but the Ghanaian has other suitors, with Juventus making a move for him too.

But anyone wanting to get a glimpse of Partey will have to wait after he was named on the substitutes' bench for the Champions League encounter, and that in itself led to plenty of talk from fans on Twitter.

The general gist was the theory that Partey being dropped for the biggest game of the season meant he was on the way to the Emirates this summer.

However, the Ghanaian has been injured and is more than likely just being held back by Simeone for a shorter stint on the pitch.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.