Exclusive column: Arsenal hopeful over midfielder transfer, new Thomas Partey development & more | OneFootball

Arsenal don’t need to fear PSG

The Champions League semi-final against PSG is looming large for Arsenal. In all honesty, it’s pretty much impossible to think about anything else.

PSG are obviously in fantastic form, but the good thing for Arsenal is they do not need to fear anyone right now. Why would they?

They’ve just beaten Real Madrid, the reigning European champions home and away. They took on the 15-time winners and comprehensively hammered them over 180 minutes.

They went to the Bernabeu, where everyone seemed to be expecting them to roll over amid a Real Madrid remontada and just patted their hosts on their heads and waved them away with relative ease.

If you can do that against Madrid, then why would you worry about anyone else?

That’s not me saying that this is not going to be an incredibly tough semi-final. Of course it will. PSG are a better side than Madrid right now.

They are brimming with confidence and have already knocked out two Premier League sides on their way to the final four, including champions elect Liverpool.

So Arsenal are going to have to be at their very best to beat them.

Mikel Arteta’s side do have the memory of a comfortable 2-0 win against Paris from earlier in the season and that should stand them in good stead.

PSG are a very different team now to the one that was brushed aside so easily at the Emirates in October, but the way Arsenal physically dominated them that night was very comprehensive.

Ousmane Dembele wasn’t playing in that game, however, and the French champions have added Khvicha Kvaratskhelia since then. Both of those players will be such a threat to Arsenal.

They are the two that really worry me, but Arsenal are so good defensively and if the likes of William Saliba and Jurrien Timber can keep them quiet then Mikel Arteta’s side will have a very good chance of taking an advantage with them to France for the second leg.

Arsenal still hopeful of Martin Zubimendi transfer

As far as I’m aware Arsenal are still hopeful that they will win the race to sign Martin Zubimendi this summer.

I know there have been reports from Spain suggesting that Real Madrid have stepped up their attempts to land the midfielder in recent weeks and that his head may have been turned.

Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

I can’t really confirm anything about the level of Madrid’s interest in Zubimendi, I’m just not sure about that. But I know that Arsenal remain hopeful of getting a deal over the line for the Real Sociedad star.

They have put a lot of effort into signing the Spaniard, with Jason Ayto – who was the club’s interim sporting director before the appointment of Andrea Berta – at the forefront of that work.

And with Berta now at the club he is being tasked with closing the deal for the Spain international, with the expectation that Arsenal will look to get it done early in the transfer window.

Zubimendi is seen as a priority for Arsenal this summer, with Jorginho certain to leave and Thomas Partey’s future far from clear as he heads towards the end of his contract.

Thomas Partey exit could be a risk – could Arsenal still offer him a new deal?

This time last week I would have said it was almost certain that Thomas Partey would leave Arsenal in the summer.

I still do think that is the most likely scenario, but I have been told that there is a feeling within Partey’s camp that the club are open to starting talks over a potential extension for the midfielder.

Partey is out of contract in the summer and so far there have been no formal talks over a new deal. His representatives were in London recently and watched the Real Madrid game, but that visit did not include discussions with the club over his future.

So we’ll have to see what happens over the coming weeks when it comes to the Ghana international.

I know he is happy and settled in London with his family and he would be open to staying, with a new two-year deal understood to be something he and his representatives view as acceptable.

But you could understand why Arsenal would be reluctant to extend Partey’s stay, with his injury record far from impressive during his time in North London.

His availability has been good this season, however, which he will point to and you could argue he is playing better now than he ever has in an Arsenal shirt.

But – if talks do take place – you can see both sides being some way apart in terms of a starting point for those discussions.

This could be Partey’s last big contract and there is strong interest in him from top clubs across Europe as well as from Saudi Arabia, so he will want to get as good a deal as possible.

But you would think Arsenal would be looking to reduce his wages due to his age and past injury record, so talks will not be easy.

Allowing both Partey and Jorginho to leave in the same summer would be a bit of a risk for Arsenal, even if Zubimendi does arrive.

I think they could cope, however, without a further addition. Declan Rice could drop in from time to time and play as the No.6 and Myles Lewis-Skelly is an option too.

With the work they have to do bolstering their attack in the coming window, I would be very surprised if they were to go out and spend big on two central midfielders.

Jack Wilshere was highly thought of at Arsenal – hopefully he’ll be back one day

I’m not sure I’ve ever felt as old as I did when I saw the news that both Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey had been placed in temporary charge of Norwich and Cardiff City and that they would be facing up against each other on the final weekend of the Championship season.

I can’t imagine either will be under serious consideration for the top job on a permanent basis yet at their clubs, but I suppose you never know – especially in Wilshere’s case.

Although he is still just 33, he has plenty of experience behind him following his time with Arsenal and he was always very well thought of there.

I had the pleasure of interviewing him several times before he moved to Norwich and he was always a very impressive guy to talk to. Coaching really did give him that fire back in his belly, which he had lost a bit towards the end of his playing days.

He was very well respected at Arsenal and they didn’t want to lose him when they did. But there was an acceptance at the club that they couldn’t stand in his way when Norwich came calling.

I think everyone still hopes that he will return to Arsenal one day. Obviously he is far away from that right now, but maybe this new interim role is the first step on that journey.