Thomas Partey transfer latest as Arsenal make contract decision and reunion planned

Atletico Madrid are interested in re-signing former midfielder this summer, it has been claimed. The 31-year-old's contract expires in June and the club have no intention of renewing his deal.

Partey left Atletico in October 2020 to join Arsenal for £45million. He endured a difficult first season in England but soon established himself as an important member of Mikel Arteta's side.

During his five years in north London, Partey has made 160 appearances, scoring nine goals. He helped them to back-to-back second-place finishes in 2022/23 and 2023/24, and is now an integral part of the Arsenal side that have one foot in the semi-final of the Champions League.

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Despite this and his significance to Arsenal, question marks still remain regarding Partey's future at the Emirates Stadium. At this stage, the Ghana international will leave the Gunners as he hasn't signed a new contract. It means he will be a free agent this summer.

And according to , Atletico are keen on brining Partey back to Madrid. Los Rojiblancos have been searching for a successor to captain Diego Simeone's team in midfield for several years, and Director of Football Carlos Bucero has identified Partey as one of the top options.

Barcelona have also been linked with a move for Partey, who made over 150 La Liga appearances while at Almeria and Atletico earlier in his career. Partey won the Europa League and Super Cup during his first spell in Madrid, and would no doubt strengthen the club's midfield.

For the meantime, Partey's immediate focus will be on Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final second-leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday. The Gunners lead 3-0 from the first leg and need to avoid a three-or-more goal beating at Santiago Bernabau to progress through to the semi-final.

Having appeared to suffer an injury against Brentford on Saturday,. However, the midfielder is available, according to Arteta.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta said: Yeah, he's available. He had a little niggle during the game, that's why he had to come off. But he felt good after the last few days so he's fine. And Jorginho, unfortunately, is not here after the incident of the weekend, he hasn't recovered. So yeah, our thoughts are with him."

Asked how to approach the second leg, as the Gunners sit 3-0 ahead, Arteta added: "To win it. The same that we did in London, our preparation has been the things that we have to do, the things that we have to dominate throughout the game in different phases to give us the best possible chance to win the game. That's clear our mindset and then we're going to play tomorrow."