Arsenal now told to go and sign £50m player from Aston Villa if Thomas Partey leaves

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Adrian Clarke has now declared that Mikel Arteta should consider replacing Thomas Partey with Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz at Arsenal.

Clarke appeared on talkSPORT this morning and was discussing how frustrating Partey’s injuries had become.

Whilst he recognised the impact that Partey does have for Arsenal, he simply didn’t think he could be relied upon.

Clarke was discussing the matter with Gabby Agbonlahor, and irked the former Aston Villa man with his suggestion to try and sign Aston Villa midfielder Luiz.

He said (9/11, 6:39am): “Oh yeah, I think they miss him at the moment. I think when he plays, Arsenal’s win record is significantly better.

“He brings that power to the midfield but Gabby [Agbonlahor] is right, he does get injured an awful lot, at Atletico I think he barely missed a game.

“So, it’s really, really frustrating. I guess he’s not young anymore around about 30.

“If that is the case that he needs replacing, I don’t want to get on Gabby’s nerves too much, but Douglas Luiz is a player that they’ve been linked with, somebody like that, a high-calibre player would have to come in.”

Agbonlahor replied: “How dare you!”

Clarke thinks Luiz would be a perfect Partey replacement at Arsenal

Whilst some fans will believe Partey still has slightly more quality than Luiz, many will agree with Clarke’s opinion that the latter’s availability would be more important for Arsenal.

The recruitment of Jorginho and Declan Rice has helped massively, but otherwise Partey’s injuries have been incredibly disruptive for Arsenal over the years.

A truly world-class midfielder on his day, but those days are now becoming a lot less frequent owing to his absences.

Clarke’s suggestion isn’t a new idea, Arsenal have often been linked with £50m Luiz, and perhaps some at the club also view the Brazilian as a sensible replacement for Partey.

Jorginho did a stellar job against Sevilla last night, but the Spanish side didn’t prove the toughest opposition.

And given his lack of physicality, some fans do doubt the Italian’s ability to sustain his levels across a season.

However, Rio Ferdinand didn’t seem to share those concerns, and was extremely impressed with the 31-year-old at times last night.

It was a positive evening for Arteta and Arsenal, and they’ll now look to build on the performance against Burnley.