Thomas Partey is expected to leave Arsenal at the end of June when his contract expires.
The Ghanaian has been at the Emirates since signing on deadline day in the summer of 2020 from Atletico Madrid for £45 million.
Making 167 appearances for the North London club, the midfielder has enjoyed some exceptional spells in Mikel Arteta’s team, although he’s also struggled with relentless injury issues.
Partey has reportedly rejected a contract proposal from Arsenal, with the Gunners’ offer supposedly not meeting his wage demands.
Christian Norgaard is expected to sign from Brentford, along with Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, with the two arrivals set to replace Partey and Jorginho.
Thomas Partey still training with the Arsenal squad in Spain
Partey is currently earning a purported £200,000 a week (via Capology), a wage that should be reflective of a player that starts regularly.
However, Zubimendi is set to sign for Arsenal for £55 million, and thus, the 32-year-old’s role in the Gunners’ team would likely have become more peripheral.
Andrea Berta was therefore justified in his approach in not bowing to Partey’s demands and offering him more than he was currently on.
The Ghana international will now leave Arsenal in the next week when his current deal reaches its expiry date.
That said, the player has caused some confusion about his exit, after posting an image on his Instagram story of him in a gym with William Saliba, Jurrien Timber and various other Arsenal players.
The image was posted on Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after the reports emerged confirming his imminent departure.
It’s believed that he is with several members of the Arsenal squad in Spain, keeping fit in the off-season ahead of pre-season.
The image has certainly sparked some speculation online that a last-minute contract revival could be on the cards, although this appears unlikely.
When Arsenal’s pre-season is expected to start
Partey is very unlikely to be an Arsenal player within the next week and is probably just trying to keep fit with some of his soon-to-be former teammates, while he’s without a club.
Those teammates will return to London Colney for pre-season in the coming weeks, with the Gunners squad set to jet off to Asia in mid-July for friendlies against AC Milan, Newcastle and Tottenham.
According to Arsenal Fixture News on X, Arteta’s ensemble are expected to reconvene on 7 July, before training together in Spain between 10 and 15 July.
They’ll then fly to Singapore on 19 July, before returning to London at the beginning of August.
The Premier League season kicks off on 14 August.
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