3 things Thomas Partey signing would immediately fix

Arsenal is supposedly making progress in signing Thomas Parte. So here are three things that would be fixed immediately if rumors are true.

Arsenal‘s midfield needs a jolt of life in the next transfer window, whenever that may be, and Thomas Partey has been pretty unanimously accepted as the first step toward fixing that. He’s also the first step towards fixing a lot of things, which I’ll get to more later.

The reason the rumor has kicked up again is because Partey’s father has spoken up and given new hope to Gooners. He talked about how he has encouraged his son to move to bigger things, of which Arsenal would be included, and thus all the talk of Atletico Madrid doubling Partey’s wages have taken a backseat to the glory of the Emirates.

With a release clause of £45m, Partey is well within the wheelhouse of our financial situation, and as I already mentioned, he is the first step we need towards fixing so many things. As soon as he is announced (because it’s a sure thing now, right?), here are three things that are immediately fixed.

We start with No. 3.

3. Defensive reinforcement

As we have learned all too well, a strong midfield lightens the load on the defense. And by that same token, even a strong defense can be put under enough pressure to bend without a sturdy midfield to defend them. Arsenal haven’t had or utilized a proper defensive midfielder in about a decade now. Probably a little over.

With Granit Xhaka, Matteo Guendouzi, and Lucas Torreira, we saw enough of a defensive hodgepodge to see the defense improve, but nothing stuck. It was still only a temporary measure.

By adding Partey, we are going to see this defense improve even more than they already have. That first wave of defense in the midfield is so important and it’s been lacking at this club for far too long. Arteta has turned this defense around and he has the wherewithal to know that in addition to getting better quality centerbacks in there, getting a midfielder who defends first is the next big step.

Mission accomplished if we sign Thomas Partey. And along those same lines, let’s talk No. 2.