The Athletic's resident renowned English transfer journalist David Ornstein, exclusively reported on Wednesday that Arsenal is in talks with its Ghana international defensive midfielder Thomas Partey over a contract extension.

According to Ornstein's report, Partey did seem certain to be leaving the club after the end of this season when his contract expires, but because of his recent great performances, head coach Mikel Arteta had changed his mind and was willing to continue working with the player.

It is reported that Arsenal is ready to offer Partey a new short-term two-year deal which will run until the summer of 2027, or a one-year deal which will run until the summer of 2026, with an option to extend for a further year.

Currently, it is not known whether Partey is willing to accept his contract extension offer, but it is certain that Partey is very happy to play for the Gunners and his family is also very happy to live in London.

Ornstein added that only if Partey refuses to renew his contract, Arsenal will consider signing a new defensive midfielder to replace him during this summer transfer window.

At that time, they are expected to try again to approach Real Sociedad player Martin Zubimendi, who had rejected them several years ago and was also pursued by their title rivals Liverpool.

It is worth mentioning that Ornstein's rumour also completely shattered the fake rumour that our website's notorious female rumour monger "Ms. Titan"  lied and falsely claimed that Partey "has a great chance of leaving the club after his contract expires this summer and transferring to Barcelona, which has "targeted him" for a long time" back in October 2024.

About Thomas Partey

Thomas Partey, 31, was born on June 13, 1993 in Krobo Odumase, Ghana. He is 1.85 meters tall and plays as a defensive midfielder.

Partey played for Leganes' youth academy when he was a child, and moving to Atlético Madrid's youth academy in 2012.

In July of the following year, Partey was loaned-out to Mallorca, and in July 2014, he was loaned-out to Almeria.

After returning to the club at the end of his loan spell in the summer of 2015, Partey completed his Atlético Madrid first-team debut by coming on as a substitute in November of the same year.

During his 7-year spell with Los Colchoneros, Partey won the Europa League once, the UEFA Super Cup once, and reached the Champions League final with the club once.

In October 2020, Partey joined Arsenal for £45 million.

Since becoming a member of the Gunners, Partey has played 162 times for the Premier League giants in all competitions so far, scoring 9 goals, assisting 7 times, and winning the English Community Shield with the club once.