Arsenal remain long-term admirers of Thomas Partey and still plan to swoop for the Atletico Madrid midfielder this summer – despite financial uncertainty over how the coronavirus pandemic will affect football.

The Gunners have reportedly left a £43.5million offer on the table for the 26-year-old, who has established himself as a first-team star for Diego Simeone’s men.

AFP or licensors 2 Thomas Partey has been in fine form this season

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The defensive midfielder’s release clause at the Spanish club is therefore primed to be activated, with Corriere dello Sport claiming he is now ‘one step away’ from a move to the Emirates.

Partey has three years remaining on his current deal at the Wanda Metropolitano, with the La Liga giants desperate to tie down to a new long-term contract.

In an interview with ESPN last summer, the Ghana international expressed a desire to play in the Premier League in the future.

“The Premier League is a good league, it’s very competitive and has some of the best players in the world,” he admitted.

“Hopefully, one day. I would like to play there. My agents are on it so I will leave everything for them.”

Getty Images - Getty 2 Mikel Arteta has admitted there are several different scenarios for Arsenal in the transfer market this summer

It would be a major coup for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, who has recently recovered from COVID-19, but says he has several different transfer plans for the club over the summer because of the global health crisis.

“I’m planning two or three different scenarios that we can face,” he revealed.

“Depending on one of those three, we will be able to do more, less or nothing.

“We have to react daily. We don’t know what the financial situation is going to be, we don’t know the rules, the timing, the window.

“There are so many things we cannot control at the moment.”