So Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone is apparently furious with Arsenal and Mikel Arteta over the last-minute transfer of Thomas Partey to North London. The move for the defensive midfielder may have caused Simeone some mild inconvenience but why would he be surprised by the move when he had prior knowledge of the Gunners’ interest.
Arsenal had also negotiated a loan deal with the club for Lucas Torriera, which indicated that Atletico Madrid were looking for a replacement. Nothing is ever permanent in football and at the moment, clubs need cash to cover their operational costs and their transfer plans.
Atletico won’t object to the £45m plus in cash paid by Arsenal and Diego Simeone will be given a portion of that if he needs additional players. It’s a good deal for both clubs and it’s rumoured that it could get even better for the Spanish side with additional bolt-ons, although we aren’t privy to those details.
Simeone is an intelligent coach and I doubt that this is the first time he’s lost a player but at the age of 27, Thomas Partey has decided that he wants the challenge of the Premier League. During talks with his manager while at Atletico, I’m sure the player spoke of his future plans to head to England.
The suggestion that both clubs won’t do business in the future is naive, to say the least. Arsenal themselves have lost many talented players over the years and even the sale of Van Persie to Manchester United never prevented the pair from doing further business with the Mkhitaryan and Sanchez swap.
READ MORE:
Revisit: How Granit Xhaka Went From ‘Misunderstood’ to Arsenal’s Most Important Midfielder
Diego Simeone is a realist and he knows that there will be times that he has to sell prized players through choice, either that of the player or the club. It’s a business like any other and no disrespect to Atletico, but Partey needs a bigger challenge.
This is just a case of the press jumping on to another half story now that the transfer window is well and truly shut. Perhaps, they can bide their time until the two teams are drawn against each other in one of the European competitions to hype up the non-existent tensions on a slack news week.
