Arsenal allowed Granit Xhaka to leave the Emirates in 2023 and they arguably never sufficiently replaced him.
Xhaka left for Bayer Leverkusen for £21.4 million at the end of the 2022/23 season, and he’s since proven his quality by winning the Bundesliga.
Making 99 appearances for Leverkusen, Xhaka is now set to sign for AC Milan, and he could be joined by Arsenal duo Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko at the San Siro.
The Gunners brought Kai Havertz and Declan Rice to N5 following the Swiss’ departure, followed by Mikel Merino in 2024.
While all three of these additions have arguably been successful in their own right, none of them have brought specific attributes to the Arsenal team that Xhaka did, and the North London club may be about to repeat this mistake with another player.
Thomas Partey is now on the verge of leaving Arsenal, with the Ghanaian reportedly unhappy with the proposal made to him by the Gunners.
Andrea Berta and Mikel Arteta offered Partey a new contract, supposedly on similar terms to his previous deal, and reports now suggest it’s unlikely that he’ll accept this offer.
It’s well documented that the 32-year-old has several other suitors lining up to secure him on a free transfer, and the North Londoners aren’t prepared to offer him a more lucrative contract than what he was already on, given he’s likely to play more of a squad role next season with the imminent arrival of Martin Zubimendi.
Since Partey arrived at Arsenal in 2020, the deep-lying playmaker has never made more than 40 appearances across all competitions, continually struggling with injury.
That was until last season, when he enjoyed his most available campaign, featuring in 52 matches for the Gunners.
Now likely to leave, the situation mirrors Xhaka’s departure in 2023.
The Swiss had endured some difficult seasons at the Emirates, but enjoyed his best year in an Arsenal shirt in the 2022/23 campaign, netting nine goals in all competitions.
The Gunners then let him go, and he’s gone on to show that he’s still at the level, while Arsenal have lacked a high-volume passer in their midfield since.
Partey’s saga could well develop in a very similar way.
While Zubimendi is expected to sign for Arsenal, the Gunners will still be down one man in midfield if Partey goes due to Jorginho’s exit.
Thus, Berta can still amend the potential Partey mistake by signing a replacement.
The Gunners need someone who can deputise for Zubimendi, filling in for the Spaniard in cup competitions, with Rice now firmly seen as an eight.
Lucien Agoume has been linked with Arsenal, and the Sevilla man is certainly an intriguing option.
Comfortable in possession and defensively astute, Agoume shares some similarities with Partey in terms of his ability to manipulate the ball to evade pressure in tight spaces.
Meanwhile, another option would be to make Myles Lewis-Skelly a midfielder and sign Ajax defender Jorrel Hato to replace the Hale End star at left-back.
