Arsenal star Thomas Partey to leave the club after contract talks stall: report

Arsenal defender Thomas Partey — Thomas Partey has come to the end of his time at Arsenal (Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal star Thomas Partey is set to depart the club after five years.

The Gunners finished second in the Premier League for the second season in a row, with manager Mikel Arteta looking to make serious improvements to his side, in order to go one better next season.

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Arsenal talks with Thomas Partey have broken down, with the Ghanaian to be released

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reacts during the English Premier League football match between Luton Town and Arsenal at Kenilworth Road in Luton, north of London on December 5, 2023. — Mikel Arteta is rebuilding his midfield (Image credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Currently Arsenal's eighth-most expensive signing ever, Partey cost the North Londoners £45 million, as per the BBC, when he signed during Arteta's first transfer window in charge.

In April, The Athletic's David Ornstein confirmed that Partey was in talks over a contract extension – but with the club bringing in Martin Zubimendi, there is an expectation that Partey's playing time will be reduced next season.

Arsenal target Martin Zubimendi of Spain thanks the fans during the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal leg one match between Netherlands and Spain at De Kuip on March 20, 2025 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. — Martin Zubimendi is joining this summer (Image credit: Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)

Ghana Soccernet says that Partey is set to leave the club on June 30, with journalist Matteo Moretto concurring with the report.

Arsenal were said to be offering a year-long extension for the 31-year-old with the option of another year on top – but FourFourTwo understands that as one of the club's highest earners and with interest in Partey from other clubs, this has always been a difficult deal for the Gunners to engineer.

Partey has not been without issue since joining Arsenal five years ago, suffering a string of injuries that have limited his consistency – though last term, he featured 52 times in all competitions.

With Arteta favouring having three defensive midfielders in his squad, it is now likely that he will dip into the transfer market for a replacement.

Thomas Partey — Partey has had problems at Arsenal (Image credit: Getty Images)

During his time at Arsenal, the Basque has had Mohamed Elneny as a third-choice anchorman, and last year entrusted Jorginho with the squad role.

Partey is valued at €14m by Transfermarkt.

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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.