Mikel Arteta gives green light to Thomas Partey exit as 'Arsenal transfer price' set

Thomas Partey looks set to leave Arsenal in the closing weeks of the summer transfer window as Turkish club Galatasaray are in talks over the midfielder's signing

Arsenal have given the green light to the departure of Thomas Partey with Turkish giants Galatasaray in talks with the midfielder.

The Gunners completed the £105million capture of Declan Rice from West Ham earlier this summer in a move that suggested boss Mikel Arteta was ready to let Partey depart. Granit Xhaka has already left North London this summer, so the exit of the Ghanaian may leave the club short in midfield.

Earlier this summer, Arteta appeared to rule out the club selling the former Atletico Madrid star. The Arsenal boss explained: “Thomas Partey is a super important player for us and for me and we want him to be in the team, that’s for sure.” However, the position appears to have changed.

Several clubs have been linked with a swoop for Partey this summer, including Juventus, while he has been tipped to spark-up interest from the Saudi Pro League. However, it is Turkish Super Lig outfit Galatasaray who have formalised their interest and opened transfer talks.

A report from Turkish publication Takvim has outlined how Gala have opened talks for the versatile midfielder, with an £8.5million bid for the player. While that bid was unsuccessful, Arsenal have reportedly told them that a £12m offer would be suffice to get a deal done.

Partey and Rice started alongside each other in the Gunners midfield for last weekend’s opening day Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest. “Yeah, they can play together,” Arteta insisted earlier in the summer. “That was in my plans. If you want to improve the squad and have more quality, we need players who can play together.We need players in the same positions who have to fight for their places and that’s something we haven’t had over the last few years. We want to improve that and that’s why we brought in Declan as well.”

Asked if he expected Partey to stay, Arteta said: “Yes. Every time I spoke to him and had a conversation with him, he’s ready to stay with us. For me, there’s nothing there at all.”

However, the latest report states that Galatasaray vice-chairman Erden Timur has spent plenty of time negotiating a transfer and there is confidence on all sides that a deal can be done. If the transfer is processed, it would end the midfielder’s three-year spell at Arsenal, where he has bagged five goals in 101 appearances.