Arsenal would be taking a “huge gamble” by offering Thomas Partey a pay rise in a potential new contract, expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.
The 31-year-old – whose presence was sorely missed in last night’s 1-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final – is currently out of contract in the summer, but it has been reported that the Gunners are in early talks with his team over an extension.
With four goals and three assists from 47 appearances in all competitions, Partey has excelled in the number six position for the Gunners in the 2024-25 campaign, and the Ghana international doing the dirty work in a deeper role has allowed Declan Rice to thrive in the left eight slot.
Arsenal are expected to wave goodbye to Jorginho and add Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi to their midfield ranks this summer, so keeping Partey would make sense from a football point of view for Watts, but he has stressed that there are several hoops to jump through before an agreement can be struck.
“I’m really on the fence,” he told Sports Mole. “My understanding of the situation is that it’s still not really at the formal talk stage. They’re exploring what might be an option, because it’s a difficult deal to do for a few reasons.
“This will be his last big contract and he’s already on good money. As far as I’m aware, a reduction in wages is something him and his team are not really considering, because they’re going to be being offered a lot elsewhere with big signing on fees.
“From an Arsenal point of view, you’re talking about a 32-year-old midfielder with not the best injury record – you would absolutely want to reduce his wages. It might end up getting done, but there’s a lot of work to be done. From purely a football point of view, it would make sense for Arsenal because he’s coming off the back of probably his best ever season in an Arsenal shirt.
“An awful long way to go” in Partey-Arsenal contract talks
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“He’s been fit for the whole season, which is fantastic because it just hasn’t happened. He’s playing really good football. Jorginho’s going and if you’ve got Zubimendi and Partey to share that number six role, that’s a hell of a lineup.
“But if you lose Jorginho and Thomas Partey at the same time, even if Zubimendi comes in, you’re weakening yourselves a little bit. But there’s an awful long way to go in this one yet before we see anything signed with him. Talks-wise, they’re not going to be the easiest to navigate.”
David Ornstein from The Athletic broke the news that Arsenal were in talks with Partey’s camp over a renewal, and a particularly intriguing aspect of the report was the midfielder apparently being open to an ‘improved’ deal.
That would suggest that Partey is looking for a pay rise to commit the next couple of years of his career to Mikel Arteta‘s side, although he is already one of Arsenal’s top earners on a reported £200,000 per week.
According to data from Capology, that wage makes the former Atletico Madrid man the fifth-highest paid player at the club behind Kai Havertz (£280k), Gabriel Jesus (£265k), Rice (£240k) and Martin Odegaard (£240k), all of whom are considerably younger.
As a result, Watts would be flabbergasted if Arsenal offered to raise Partey’s basic wage, although he raised the possibility of the midfielder earning more money based on performance-related factors.
“I don’t think they would do it,” Watts said when asked about Arsenal improving Partey’s terms. “I’d be very, very surprised. How could you justify that? I’m not sure you can. It just doesn’t make sense from a business point of view.
Arsenal taking “a huge gamble” if Partey salary increased
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“If you give him a raise at 32 and then he gets injured straight away – I know he’s been great this season fitness wise, but past histories are the best indicator of future injuries – you’d be taking a huge gamble on a player well into his 30s with a dodgy injury record.
“I’d just be stunned if they were to do that. Maybe you can work it around – there can be clauses, performance related bonuses, how many minutes you play. When they all sit around the table and try and thrash something out, that’s what they could look at.
“If Thomas Partey then stays fit for the next two years, plays a hell of a lot of minutes, maybe he could get those wages up to something around what they would consider for him to stay. There is that part of it that they could engineer quite cleverly, but on reduced basic terms.
“But if they’re really expecting just out-and-out more money, I can’t see the club doing it.”
A player renowned for his exceptional injury record at Atletico Madrid, Partey missed just seven matches while representing Diego Simeone‘s side, but he has sat out 81 games for club and country since joining Arsenal.
However, Partey has only been forced to miss one contest in the 2024-25 campaign because of a fitness problem, being omitted from the 5-2 win over West Ham United in late November due to a muscular issue.
