Ultimately, Thomas Partey’s late move to Arsenal proved to be the most significant transfer on deadline day.
The midfielder had been linked with a move to the Emirates for several months, but all indications were that Arsenal didn’t want to pay his release clause.
Then the Gunners caught everyone, including Atlético Madrid, on the hop and decided they did actually want to pay.
Thus, a move was quickly organised, the €50m were deposited at La Liga, and Partey got the move and the big wages that he wanted.
It’s a scenario in which everyone seems to win, although Atlético Madrid certainly won’t be feeling that way after seeing one of their key men leave right at the end of the window.
And that is very much the tone from Spain today, with all the major newspapers covering the situation with the predicted levels of saltiness.
Mundo Deportivo kick us off, stating that the whole deal was carried out with the ‘utmost suspicion’ by Partey as the la Liga side had ‘no knowledge’ of the Gunners’ intentions, going hard on the idea the midfielder is something of a snake.
Sport continue this theme saying the move to Arsenal was done in ‘the purest Rivaldo style’. In other words, he’s betrayed Atlético and done things in an underhand manner, echoing Rivaldo’s move from Deportivo La Coruña to Barcelona in 1997.
AS are a little less angry, focusing the blame on Arsenal and saying they took Partey ‘without notice’, aka without even a polite phone call to let Atlético know, which they’re perfectly entitled to do but again plays into the whole underhand theme.
Marca finish things off and are a little more subtle in their criticism, basically painting Atlético as a wounded former lover whose been ditched to one side.
They describe the Spanish side as the team who ‘opened the doors of Europe’ for Partey and state that he been ‘seduced by the project’ at the Emirates, despite the fact Arsenal won’t be in the Champions League.
That last bit is a nice little dig, the suggestion being Partey has actually joined a lesser club than Atlético.
Not that Arsenal are likely to care one iota about any insults coming their way anyways.
