Worth millions more than Partey: Arteta hit gold on Arsenal "monster"

There is no escaping from the fact that this season has been a real disappointment for Arsenal.

As things stand, Mikel Arteta’s side are 12 points off Liverpool in the Premier League and, in reality, the title race came to a pathetic end months ago.

However, it is not all doom and gloom in the red half of North London, as in Europe anyway, the Gunners have seriously stepped up and are just two games away from what would be their second Champions League final in their history.

The competition has seen some of Arsenal’s players remind the rest of the world just how good they really are, including one unlikely star who is now worth more than Thomas Partey, whose future is back in the conversation.

The latest on Thomas Partey

Just a few weeks ago, it was generally believed that once his £200k-per-week contract came to an end on June 30th, Partey would depart Arsenal as a free agent following five relatively successful years at the club.

However, ahead of the team’s underwhelming draw with Crystal Palace on Wednesday night, The Athletic’s David Ornstein broke some news that suggested that might not be the case anymore.

According to the respected journalist, the Gunners now want the experienced midfielder to remain at the club and are in talks over a new deal, which could either be for two years or one with an option for another.

There is certainly an element of risk in handing a soon-to-be 32-year-old player with an extensive injury list a new deal, but this season has seen him available for almost all of it, and with 47 appearances so far, it’s clear Arteta still rates him.

However, his age and injury history have likely counted against his most recent valuation, as Transfermakrt has priced him at just €15m, which is about £13m and millions less than one of Arsenal’s surprise stars of the last month.

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The Arsenal star worth millions more than Partey

So, while practically the entire team played well against Real Madrid, one starter perhaps surprised fans with just how well he performed against the European Champions: Jakub Kiwior.

Yes, the player in question is the former Spezia ace who’s often been looked upon as an unconvincing backup to the sensational William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães.

However, since the latter was ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury, the Polish international has stepped up in a massive way.

In fact, had it not been for his French partner, he’d have a clean sheet at the Bernabeu to his name.

Moreover, while the highly-rated Bondy-born superstar made yet another mistake at home against Palace this week, the “extraordinary” Tychy-born titan, as dubbed by Robert Lewandowski, found himself on the scoresheet.

So, with such a dramatic turnaround from worrying backup to essential starter, it’s not all that surprising to see the 25-year-old’s valuation be higher than some of his teammates.

For example, Transfermarkt has priced the defensive “monster,” as dubbed by reporter Sam Dean, at €22m, which comes out to about £19m, or £6m more than Partey.

Ultimately, while he’ll likely never be the first choice when the backline is fully fit, Kiwior has demonstrated over the last month or so that, when needed, he can be the perfect backup for Arsenal, and, as such, we would not be surprised to see his valuation climb higher before the end of the season.

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