As Premier League runner-up Arsenal embarks on their pre-season program during a tour of the United States, highly-touted Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has shed light on his midfield options ahead of the anticipated 2023-24 campaign in the wake of impressive summer business that saw the quality and performance needle shift for the north London side.
A British record deal for West Ham United captain Declan Rice as well as a considerable financial outlay on Chelsea’s German international Kai Havertz highlighted a shift in the central areas at the Emirates, with a current Arsenal star still likely of being vital under Arteta’s stewardship.
Arteta on how he plans to use the midfielders next season👀 pic.twitter.com/rd7HQE4yxr
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When speaking to CBS Sports’ popular Golazo show, Arteta was quizzed on what the evolution of the Gunners’ midfield would be after the arrival of Rice and Havertz.
Considering the club’s previous deployment that consisted of two deeper midfielders, which many experts – with the aid of soundbites coming from the club – feel points to reducing that number in favor of more central attacking options, Arteta shed light on what could be on the horizon while suggesting that Thomas Partey could have a large role to play still.
“Now we have three very good holding midfielders with him [Rice], Thomas [Partey], and Jorgi [Jorginho], and I have to feed them in because they are so good and I love playing with midfielders. So, yeah, we are thinking of a few ways and things that we can do to maximize their qualities, and in the end, get the best out of them. It’s not about the ideas of the coach, it’s what do we do for the team to flourish and for everybody to feel comfortable in the task that has been given.”
Though many had expected Partey to possibly be one of the names to leave the Emirates this summer, with a number of clubs in Europe linked with interest as well as Roshn Saudi League outfits circling, on evidence, it appears that the Ghanaian international midfielder could remain key to the club’s efforts on the pitch this season.
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