Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has been offered a new deal by the Gunners, and the "most likely" scenario is that he stays put in North London, Charles Watts has exclusively told Sports Mole.
The former Atletico Madrid man is now in the final few weeks of the five-year deal he signed upon his arrival in 2020, and Barcelona are rumoured to be in talks with his entourage over a free transfer.
It was reported in the spring that exploratory conversations over a renewal had begun with the midfielder's camp, though, as Partey enters the summer on the back of one of his most impactful seasons in an Arsenal shirt.
The 31-year-old banished his injury demons to make 52 appearances for Mikel Arteta's side in 2024-25 - the second-most of any outfield player behind Leandro Trossard (56) - and managed four goals three assists, form that has convinced Arsenal he is worth keeping.
According to Watts, even though an agreement has not been reached, the "most likely" scenario is that he stays put, saying: "Arsenal have offered him a contract now, which has come fairly recently, but it hasn't been accepted.
"From my understanding, the most likely scenario still is that there will be an agreement because both sides are coming at it from wanting to stay.
"Arsenal would prefer him to stay and Partey would prefer to stay in London. But it's a complicated deal because Arsenal are trying to reduce his wages. Partey doesn't want to reduce his wages. It's his last big contract. And he has got interest from Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, top clubs in Europe, Saudi Arabia as well.
"It is quite a hard one to get done. I don't know how long it's going to go on for. The longer it goes on, other clubs are free to speak to him, he's free to speak to them. It's relatively slow moving, but I don't think we'll have to wait too long.
'Partey most likely to stay at Arsenal amid Barcelona interest'
"One way or the other, a decision will be made fairly quickly, because that's the nature of the beast when it comes to this sort of situation. I'm leaning more towards he stays, but anything can still happen."
Partey is one of only five Arsenal players on a £200,000-a-week wage or higher, and the midfielder is understood to want a renewal that reflects his standing as one of the Gunners' most integral players in the 2024-25 season.
The 31-year-old's negotiating position is strengthened by the fact that Jorginho is leaving on a free transfer to Flamengo, meaning that Arsenal will be weakened in the number six role even if Martin Zubimendi's £51m deal goes through as expected.
A pay rise is believed to be out of the question, but when asked whether Arsenal should try to keep him on the same pay packet given the risk of both Partey and Jorginho departing in one window, Watts put forward the idea of potentially cutting his wages in the second year of any renewal.
"It's tough," he added. "Can you really do that for a 32-year-old with the injury record that he has? I know his injury record was great last season. If Partey goes, you'd have to go and sign another midfielder. You can't lose Jorginho and Partey and then only bring in Zubimendi.
"The wages you'd spend, would that be as much as the transfer fee you'd have to spend on a replacement? Potentially not. I think the contract they're looking at is potentially a one-year plus one with an option.
"Maybe you can come to some sort of agreement where the first year, you pay good wages, the second year, if you trigger that option, the wages reduce a little bit.
"There's all that sort of thing that needs to be discussed. But the fact that Jorginho is going makes it doubly important. That's why we're seeing them change their mind and push for Partey to stay, whereas a few months ago, the general consensus was this was probably going to be his last season in an Arsenal shirt."
Can Arsenal survive with just Zubimendi next season?
© Imago
Even if Partey and Arsenal can find an agreement to continue their partnership, Zubimendi will be expected to become Arteta's first-choice number six next season, although he will only have makeshift alternatives behind him if Partey goes.
Declan Rice is the most obvious alternative in the deepest engine room slot, but the Englishman has made the left eight role his own over the past couple of years with two seasons of exceptional attacking performances.
Myles Lewis-Skelly is no stranger to playing in midfield either, while Ben White dabbled in a more advanced position for Brighton & Hove Albion, but not signing another number six to replace Partey would be a huge gamble in Watts's eyes.
"There are options," he added. "Declan Rice is probably the first one, Lewis-Skelly is another. But you're taking a big, big gamble if you're doing that. We've seen last season, the gambles Arsenal took backfired spectacularly. I don't think you can allow yourself to be put in the same position again.
"You take so much out your game if Declan Rice is playing at six. When he first arrived, I thought he would be Arsenal's six, but he's so good in that left eight role. He's growing season by season as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing Declan Rice take his game to another level, the goals, the assists and everything he's going to bring.
"If Partey has one of his seasons where he gets a lot of injuries, which could easily happen, suddenly you're taking Declan Rice and playing him as number six for long periods. How much is that impacting you in an attacking sense? You've got to protect yourselves."
Partey has amassed a total of nine goals and seven assists in 167 matches for Arsenal since his £42.5m switch from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2020, but he has won just one Community Shield in North London so far.
Watts also discussed Arsenal's pursuit of a new wide attacker in the summer transfer window, although he warned the Gunners against signing a reported target who is "past his best".
Ben Knapton
![Slovenia's Benjamin Sesko pictured in June 2024 [IMAGO]](https://sm.imgix.net/11/29/1x1.gif?w=1&h=1 "Slovenia's Benjamin Sesko pictured in June 2024 [IMAGO]")
