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Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn has weighed in on the debate over which player Mikel Arteta should sign this summer between Houssem Aouar and Thomas Partey.
The Gunners are looking to land a midfielder and both players have been linked with a summer transfer to the Emirates.
Arteta has been a longtime fan of Partey, but he also noticed Aouar from his time as Manchester City’s assistant coach.
Now he’s looking to sign at least one of the two, although much of the latest transfer news has been about a move for Aouar.
Winterburn, however, believes the Gunners should sign Partey. He stated that the Ghanaian is “fast, solid and powerful both with the ball and with him.”
Having observed the midfielder, he claimed that there have been times when Arsenal have needed a player like Partey in game situations and he would have helped if he was in the team at the time.
Winterburn said, quoted by Mirror Football: “Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar are the right kind of names to link with Arsenal.
“Sometimes, for long periods, Arsenal have good ball possession. But when teams prepare defensively, they fight to take down the opponent.
“Last weekend [in a 2-1 win over West Ham] It was actually a bad performance from Arsenal, but I’m happy with the result because last season would have been a game that Arsenal would have lost.
“I have said for the last two seasons that the Arsenal squad needs to be changed and renewed. Mikel Arteta has come in, he has tackled the defensive issues and, considering Houssem Aouar and Thomas Partey, it looks like he is starting to address the issues in midfield as well.
“The big problem with Arsenal is that they have so many midfielders that they probably need to get rid of some before they can bring in more. However, players like Thomas Partey and Houssem Aouar are players with whom I am delighted to see Arsenal linked. They are different types of players that can strengthen a midfield.
“I really like Partey because he is fast, solid and powerful both with the ball and with him. There have been times in the past when Arsenal failed to break things down due to the pace of other teams on the fast break, which is something Partey could do.
“He takes the ball in difficult situations and has the power and ability to pass to opposing midfielders. Once you start eliminating in this way, like Partey does, you tend to open up space in and around the opponent’s defense. With Arsenal’s pace in the forefront, they can take advantage of this and do some damage.
“Mikel Arteta is not entirely happy with the midfield he currently has and seems to want to change it.
“As always with Arsenal, it takes a long time to get things done. We will have to wait and see again, but I don’t think Arsenal will have the money to bring them both.
“Also, when we talk about ideal signings, we forget to consider whether those players want to join Arsenal, and that’s the most important thing. So we have to wait and see, but my preference of the two would be Thomas Partey. “
