'He's a big player' – Mikel Arteta gives update on Arsenal star's future with contract set to expire

Today at 07:47 AM

Mikel Arteta says he will hold talks with Thomas Partey over his Arsenal future, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.

After a difficult and injury-stricken campaign in 2023/24, Partey is enjoying somewhat of a mini-revival this season, starting all of Arsenal’s Premier League and Champions League games so far.

In fact, he has already played more league minutes this season (799) than he did in the entirely of last season (789).

The defensive midfielder has helped fill the void left by injured captain Martin Odegaard, while his versatility has also proved very handy, deputising at right-back at times due to the absences of Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

Having fallen down the pecking order it was expected that Partey would leave the Emirates over the summer, especially following the arrival of Mikel Merino, but there was a lack of transfer interest in him.

With his contract up next summer, this could be his last season in north London, but off the back of his good start Arteta says the Ghana international could extend his stay.

‘The one thing that we needed was Thomas to be at the level we wanted certainly,’ the Gunners boss said in his press conference ahead of the trip to Newcastle on Saturday.

‘He’s working so hard to do what he’s doing at the moment, and I think he’s playing really well in different positions with different demands and he’s coping with it in a great way.

‘He's a big player for us. He's only 31 and he’s in a really good place and yeah, we’ll have discussions [over his contract]’.

Partey joined Arsenal in 2020 for £45million and to date has made 128 appearances for the club.

Excluding loanees, he is one of just two Gunners players out of contract at the end of the season alongside fellow defensive midfielder Jorginho and it seems unlikely that Arsenal will allow both to leave on a free unless a suitable replacement is signed.