The start of June signifies something in football. Namely, the football is over. When there are no international tournaments (and nobody is really counting the Nations League, World Cup qualifiers, or Club World Cup), then the summer starts.
June 1 is often like January 1. It indicates a new dawn and the transfer window. Usually it is not until halfway through the month that business is free to be completed and finalised but this time matters are different.
The aforementioned Club World Cup has had a shake up meaning that between June 1 and June 10, teams from across the world can carry out premature transfer activity. What a joy.
The window then shuts, strangely, for a week so that FIFA’s regulations over how long a window can be open are not broken. It will then open again on June 16 until September 1. Game on.
For Arsenal, June could not really come soon enough. May simply carried too much weight. The hurt of losing in the Champions League semi-final and the baggage of not being able to sustain a domestic title fight. Realistically, as soon as the January window closed and no striker was signed, all eyes were on what would be to come.
Andrea Berta has followed, as have injuries which put the summer’s demands in even clearer focus. Now it is June and the window is already open, deals are expected.
The worry is that in less than four weeks, Arsenal will see two of their three options to play in a midfield pivot leave. If that is the case, then maybe June should have come with a warning.
Once this thing starts it does not stop and transfers move quickly. The good news is that Martin Zubimendi is widely expected to join from Real Sociedad. That appeared to have been sown up in January with his £51million release clause finally set to take him from Spain to an English team in red.
In contrast to the prevailing direction last summer, it will not be to Liverpool. Arsenal have moved ahead of the queue and look to have their man. A master passer able to play with a partner in front of the defence or on his own.
The slight-in-stature No.6 offers experience and quality. He is relatively cheap given what the market for players in his position have been in recent years (Declan Rice, Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo, Jude Bellingham, and others can all support this).
Mikel Arteta would still have an issue even if Zubimendi was to arrive, however. Arsenal’s midfield stocks are set to deplete with Jorginho and Thomas Partey out of contract at the end of the month. June 30 is the last day they will be tied to Arsenal. They have been able to negotiate pre-contract agreements with clubs outside of England since the start of January when they entered the final six months.
Jorginho, who arrived in January 2023 late on as an emergency signing, has already found a new side. Partey, though, is in a different camp. His time at Arsenal seemed to be coming to a close 12 months ago after a season of injury and frustration. He has worked his way back to fitness and played 35 of 38 Premier League matches, 21 more than in 2023/24.
Partey clocked almost 2,800 league minutes as well, the most of his Arsenal career and more than any other top flight season since he entered men’s football. At 31, Partey falls into an awkward category where committing to another two years (at least) makes clubs uncertain.
The former Atletico Madrid man is on good money at Arsenal and would need to repay that with performances which are not guaranteed as he gets older. This is especially true and risky due to his injury issues, even if they are the exception rather than the norm.
Partey has been a crucial player for Arsenal this season, though, and has often anchored the team and allowed Rice to roam forward in an adventurous No.8 position. His absence in the Champions League semi-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain was felt.
Arsenal opened talks with Partey over a new deal earlier this year in order to resolve matters before this stage. Arteta would not be drawn on it when asked but hinted clearly that he was keen to see the player extend his stay.
That call has been handed over to Berta since Edu Gaspar’s exit and Jason Ayto’s interim sporting director appointment. Noise around Partey and Arsenal has since gone quiet with reports of Barcelona’s interest coming out.
Losing Partey, especially at this stage of the window, would cause Arsenal some serious issues. For starters, unless Zubimendi is wrapped up by then, Rice will be the only natural player in the deep midfield role. Mikel Merino was signed to play across the three but has actually been most comfortable when used up front.
Rice, on the other hand, has flourished as he did at West Ham, when driving forward and vacating the central areas. He has benefited from freedom to push on and crash the box rather than screening his own backline.
Partey is the physical presence who has been able to sit ahead of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. Without him there would need to be some serious movement to cover.
Myles Lewis-Skelly is able to operate in midfield but is still honing is craft at left-back and inverts more often than he does starting there. Jorginho was rarely used in the league anyway, but is closer to Zubimendi in style than he is Rice or Partey.
From a sheer numbers perspective, Arsenal would be looking at just three central midfielders (plus Zubimendi) over the age of 18 if Partey and Jorginho both go on July 1. Zubimendi certainly goes some way to solving things but would still leave Arteta light.
With so much of the attention which striker Arsenal are going to buy, it feels like the midfield equation has been left untouched. Last month Arteta was relaxed about Partey’s future but now he will be keen to have some clarity on just what is coming.
When June rolls around it is time for excitement but also chaos. Arsenal need to get it right and being left with one less midfield option after suffering the injuries of last season is not necessarily the way to start.
