Arsenal will ‘definitely’ replace star in January after puzzling summer transfer decision – pundit

Gabby Agbonlahor has urged Arsenal to land a replacement for Thomas Partey after the ‘strange’ decision not to sign a new central midfielder in the summer.

Mikel Arteta can rely on Partey, Granit Xhaka, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Mohamed Elneny in the centre of the pitch. He could probably do with a new top star in the position though.

Arsenal made three attempts to capture Douglas Luiz from Aston Villa recently. The Brazilian is in the final 12 months of his contract at Villa Park, which gave Arsenal hope their Premier League rivals would sell.

However, Villa held firm and rejected all of Arsenal’s proposals for Luiz. They told the Gunners he would not be going anywhere as they maintain hope of tying him down to a new contract.

Arsenal were reportedly looking at Youri Tielemans as well. Like Luiz, he is in the final year of his contract and this means a move away from Leicester is likely.

However, Arsenal didn’t act on their interest in Tielemans and the 25-year-old stayed at the King Power due to this.

Arteta’s midfield options have been weakened by an injury to Partey. He picked up a knock shortly before Ghana’s match against Brazil on Friday.

This makes him a doubt for Arsenal’s first game back after the international break. They come up against north London rivals Tottenham on Saturday at 12:30.

Pundit backs Thomas Partey replacement

During an interview with Football Insider, former Villa star Agbonlahor was asked about Partey and whether Arsenal will try to replace him next year. The pundit replied: “Yes. Arsenal might look in January and think, ‘you know what, we’re third in the league, we’re second in the league, we’ve got a really good chance this season of finishing in the top four’ and they will have to go out and get one.

“Their fans were very upset at the end of the window when they didn’t get one.

“Thomas Partey is always getting injuries, he’s very injury prone. Xhaka’s been outstanding, Lokonga is still up and coming but they need one more.

“It was strange that they didn’t fill that position. Especially when they know Thomas Partey is not going to play a lot of games this season because he’s always injured.

“They need to definitely get one in during the January window.”

Arsenal could pursue Tielemans, Majer

Tielemans remains an option as he heads towards free agency. Leicester will need to sell in January to prevent the Belgian from going for nothing.

An alternative for Arsenal is Rennes star Lovro Majer. He has been in good form for the French club this season after joining them from Dinamo Zagreb in 2021.

Majer could become the next Luka Modric, as he is also from Croatia. Given how well the Ballon d’Or winner did at Tottenham before moving to Real Madrid, Arsenal could probably do with following their rivals’ lead and capturing Majer.

And this is exactly what they are planning to do, according to the Daily Mirror. They provide a report claiming Arsenal will make a £44m bid for the Rennes ace this winter.

Meanwhile, a Denmark star says he is ‘insanely happy’ to hear about interest from Arsenal, setting up a potential move to the Emirates.