Mikel Arteta clearout picks up pace but Arsenal star may miss out on dream move

Mikel Arteta is set to revamp Arsenal’s midfield this summer with Jorginho and Thomas Partey heading for the exit but the latter’s dream next move has been complicated

Arsenal are set to have their midfield reshaped this summer with Jorginho and Thomas Partey both expected to depart at the conclusion of their contracts.

And Ghana international Partey has put Barcelona at the top of his wishlist as the midfielder explores his next move. A potential Bosman move to the Catalan giants is only likely to happen if they move on one of their current midfielders, however.

Mundo Deportivo report that a deal could hinge on whether another European giant offers big money for Frenkie de Jong, who was close to leaving last summer but has recently been rumoured to be keen on a new deal.

However there is one added twist – Barca could yet decide to hire Partey as a back-up right back. He has featured there on nine different occasions for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners this season owing to injuries but there has been little talk of a new deal for the former Atletico Madrid player.

Partey joined Arsenal in October 2020 after they activated Atletico’s £45 million release clause. He has made more than 120 appearances for the club but fell down the pecking order following the arrival of Declan Rice for more than £100 million in the summer of 2024.

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Jorginho is also set to say farewell to the Emirates, with Arteta and new sporting director Andrea Berta expected to add fresh options in the summer transfer window.

The Gunners have been heavily linked with a deal for Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi in recent months. Left back Kieran Tierney has agreed to rejoin Celtic on July 1, while loanees Raheem Sterling and goalkeeper Neto will see their loans expire at the end of June.

Arsenal then have three more players entering the final 12 months of their contracts – winger Landro Trossard, utility man Oleksandr Zinchenko and injury prone defender Takehiro Tomiyasu. Arteta has already teased that the upcoming summer is a massive one, with the aim of building depth to finally land a Premier League title.

“It’s going to be a big one and we are very excited about it,” he explained earlier this month. “When you are going to go again, we want to increase the depth of the squad and the quality and the skills that we need to go to the next step.

“Every summer is big because it is an opportunity and especially because of the number of players we have in the squad right now, that is necessary. But it’s a big summer for many things because first of all we have to maintain the good foundations that we have and then obviously how can we improve and evolve the team.”

Arsenal are set to take on Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night with Bukayo Saka expected to make his first start since injuring a hamstring in December.

He has made two substitute appearances in the past week and admitted that this game will be the biggest of his club career to date.

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