Arsenal have triggered the £45m release clause for Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey.

They pulled off the dramatic transfer coup on deadline day by triggering Partey’s £45m clause written into his contract held by the Spanish football authorities.

Partey has completed the bulk of his medical in Madrid and has arrived in London to finalise his transfer with Arsenal.

The Gunners had the Ghana international top of their transfer wishlist but put a move on hold following Atletico’s demands that the midfielder’s full release clause must be met.

According to the Mirror, they are also paying Partey £260,000-a-week in a four year contract with an option, £2.5m signing-on fee and ten per cent agent commission in a staggering package.

Arsenal had been trying to negotiate with Atletico all summer but knew they always had the fall back option of triggering the buy-out clause which are standard in player contracts in Spain.

That is a relatively simple process but the biggest issue was whether they had enough time to get the deal over the line.