Arsenal face contract dilemma with two Mikel Arteta stars in line to depart on free transfers

Arsenal are facing a dilemma over the future of midfielder Thomas Partey. The Ghanaian, who reportedly earns in excess of £200,000 per week at the Emirates, is swiftly approaching the final six months of his contract which expires next summer and in January, he will be free to discuss a Bosman with foreign clubs. So far, Arsenal are yet to show an appetite to extend the 31-year-old's stay but Partey has been in inspired form so far this season, having made just 14 Premier League appearances due to injury last term. Jorginho's contract is also up next June meaning at this moment in time, the Gunners are facing the prospect of losing two senior central midfielders on free transfers before the start of the 2025-26 campaign.

Partey is among the club's top-earners and given he has struggled to maintain fitness since joining Arsenal from Atletico Madrid in 2020, there is understood to be scepticism about handing the player another lucrative, big-money deal. But on the flip side, the player has never actively pushed to leave the club despite being considered available for transfer in several recent transfer windows and now, his combative displays in the middle of the park have undoubtedly given Mikel Arteta and Edu something to think about.

Replacing Partey's calibre, experience and grasp of Arteta's tactical blueprint is unlikely to come cheap, even if shifting his substantial salary from the books would help Arsenal's cause when it comes to sourcing a suitable successor.

At the back end of last season, it appeared a formality that Partey would be leaving the club on a free transfer in 2025 and while that still remains highly probable, the situation remains open. Regardless of the outcome, signing a marquee defensive midfielder is expected to be among Edu's top transfer priorities next summer.

Martin Zubimendi was previously a target but interest has since cooled, however, it would not be a surprise to see a swoop revisited, if the Spaniard indicates he is willing to leave Real Sociedad for pastures new. Liverpool were primed to bring the Euro 2024 winner to Anfield this summer before a late change of heart but Sociedad have only recorded one win from their opening seven La Liga matches and that kind of form could potentially prompt a rethink. It remains to be seen whether the Reds would be prepared to return to the table after being publicly rejected by Zubimendi, who is yet to agree a new contract in the Basque Country. Amadou Onana was also appreciated by the Gunners before his big-money switch to Aston Villa from Everton but that ship has obviously sailed.