Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery ultimately pushed for the club to prioritise other transfer targets over Thomas Partey last year.
The Ghana international finally made his way from Atletico Madrid to Arsenal in a dramatic deadline day move yesterday, in what looks a hugely exciting deal for the Gunners.
MORE: Diego Simeone left furious over Thomas Partey transfer to Arsenal
However, Arsenal could probably have done with signing Partey earlier, and might have done so if Emery hadn’t instructed them to push for other targets instead.
According to The Athletic, the former Arsenal boss was an admirer of Partey, but felt his squad needed a winger, so pushed for the north Londoners to target Nicolas Pepe or Wilfried Zaha.
In the end, Arsenal signed Pepe last summer, but this didn’t leave enough money left for Partey, despite some talks being held over a move in London, according to The Athletic.
Gooners will be relieved that they’ve finally made this superb addition to their midfield, with Partey a much-needed upgrade on the likes of Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi.
It’s amusing, however, that, along with all the other stuff he got wrong at the Emirates Stadium, Emery also ended up blocking an earlier deal for Partey.
Too bad. seems he also failed to prioritze Caglur Soyuncu over the likes of Socratis and Leistener.