£200,000-per-week Arsenal star in Saudi transfer talks with agreement close

One Arsenal high-earner is in talks over a lucrative move to the Middle East, and is believed to be closing in on a switch to the Saudi Pro League.

Players who could be sold by Arsenal this summer

Joining Mohamed Elneny and Cedric Soares, who are already confirmed to be leaving Hale End when their contracts expire at the end of this month, a host of Mikel Arteta’s squad could follow them out the exit door.

Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares, who don’t appear to feature in Arteta’s long-term plans moving forward, spent last season on loan spells at Luton Town and Nottingham Forest respectively – with the former admitting this summer could be his last at the club (via Fabrizio Romano).

Left-back Kieran Tierney was also on a temporary spell at Real Sociedad last campaign, where he managed 27 games in all competitions, but his regular game time in Spain wasn’t enough to convince Arsenal to keep him.

Reports this week have claimed both Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko have been told to find new clubs, as Arteta swings the axe and looks to keep evolving his Arsenal squad ahead of another potential title challenge with Man City.

As well as the two left-backs, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale have been named as Arsenal players who could be sold by Arteta this summer – as per various media reports from the last two months.

One of the most high-profile departures expected at Arsenal, though, is midfielder Thomas Partey. The Ghanaian has entered the final 12 months of his contract, with reliable journalists like Fabrizio Romano claiming Partey is set to leave in the next few months.

The £200,000-per-week midfielder has been a faithful servant since signing from Atletico Madrid for £45 million in 2020, but as the Arsenal squad keeps growing, there is no room for Partey – who also suffered from real injury problems last season.

Partey in talks and closing in on move to Saudi Arabia

As per Football Insider this week, there has been an important update on the 30-year-old’s future. Indeed, it is now believed Partey is in Arsenal exit talks and closing in on a move to Saudi Arabia, via his representatives who are discussing terms.

The former La Liga star would pen a “huge” contract to swap the Premier League for the Gulf state, and FI’s headline states Partey is close to agreeing the lucrative deal.

The north Londoners, if all goes to plan, will use the cash generated through Partey’s sale to buy a younger central midfield replacement. Arsenal have apparently set an asking price of between £20-£25 million, which would be good business considering both the player’s age and contract situation.