Thomas Partey's Father Claims Midfielder Wanted to Join 'Bigger Club' Than Arsenal

The father of new Arsenal signing Thomas Partey has confessed that the Ghanaian actually held out hope of joining a 'bigger' club than Arsenal during the summer.

Partey was Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's top priority for the majority of the transfer window, but he saw countless approaches knocked back by Atlético Madrid, who were adamant they wanted his £45m release clause paid in full.

For most of the summer, it didn't seem as though Arsenal were going to be able to do that, but they changed their stance on a hectic deadline day and managed to get a deal done.

Partey's father, Jacob, recently sat down with Joy Sports to discuss their delight at joining the Gunners, although he let slip that the 27-year-old needed a little convincing to move to the Emirates Stadium this summer.

"We actually weren’t disturbed by anything because we hoped a bigger team will come for Partey," Jacob said. "We were aware of the [other teams that were interested]: Juventus, Chelsea and so forth.

"What I noticed was that he was willing to play where there is Champions League football but I suggested to him that can’t he be where there is no Champions League and help them get into the Champions League?"

That advice obviously worked as Partey flew over to England on deadline day to put pen to paper on a contract to bring Arsenal's fantastic summer to a close.

The midfielder has been away on international duty with Ghana and is yet to spend much time with his new team-mates, so it remains to be seen whether Arteta will hand Partey his debut in Saturday's meeting with Manchester City.

The Gunners will travel to the Etihad Stadium in good form, having won three of their opening four Premier League games. Their only defeat came against Liverpool, who Arsenal did manage to beat in both the Community Shield and Carabao Cup earlier this season.

The fixture list looks pretty gruelling for Arsenal, who will follow Saturday's meeting with City with games against Leicester, Manchester United and high-flying Aston Villa, so Arteta will be keen to see Partey get up to speed as soon as possible.

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