“He needs to leave right now”: Pundit backs and urges Arsenal’s ‘brilliant’ midfielder to pack his loads and leave very soon and Mikel Arteta should move Gabriel Jesus ‘OUT’ so that he can bring in a ‘30 goals scoring striker’ like Erling Halaand
Jay Bothroyd has urged Thomas Partey to ‘leave’ Arsenal if he wants to play ‘week in and week out’ following the arrival of Declan Rice.
The former Arsenal academy product added that he also wants Mikel Arteta to bring in a striker that can score ’20 goals a season’ and then push Gabriel Jesus ‘out wide’, as he told SkySports.
It’s not yet known if a number nine will be brought in this summer, but one thing is for sure, there doesn’t seem to be a rush to bring one in.
As for Thomas Partey, there has been a lot of talk about his future this summer, with links to Saudi Arabia and Juventus.
There have also been suggestions that Arteta plans to play both Partey and Rice together, after Granit Xhaka returned to Germany this summer.
But, for Bothroyd, he can’t see that happening on a regular basis, so as a result, he thinks it’s best that Partey heads for the exit door.
“I think, from his point of view, he should move on,” said Bothroyd. “Especially if he feels like ‘I want to play week in and week out’. He’s not going to do that with Declan Rice.
“When Arteta said ‘they can both play together’. I think that would be in a 4-2-3-1. Odegaard as a number ten, then two sitting. But I don’t think that’s going to happen that much.
“I think someone like Jesus can be pushed wide if they sign a striker. I think a striker for Arsenal is key. They need a striker that’s going to come in and score, at least, 20 Premier League goals a season.
“If Partey wants to play every week, then he has to leave. But if he is happy to be a part of the squad, then it’s good for Arsenal that he stays.”
Arsenal need depth
The starters that performed so well for Arsenal last season need to stay on board because lack of depth was one of the reasons they collapsed last time out.
That’s why the likes of Kai Havertz have been brought on board because if you compare Arsenal’s bench to Manchester City’s, then there are big differences.
If Partey stays on board, even if he is benched on occasions, it just takes the quality of the squad to a new level.
