Arteta personally wants Arsenal to sign £50m Saka replacement in January

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is personally very eager for the Gunners to go and attempt a deal for one very highly-rated forward this month, as his side continue to scour the market for a potential Bukayo Saka replacement.

Arsenal suffer 2-0 Carabao Cup first leg defeat to Newcastle United

It was a Tuesday night to forget for Arsenal, who saw their hopes of winning the Carabao Cup and a piece of major silverware take a massive dent.

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Arsenal set sights on signing £20m player as Arteta decides “top priority”

The Spaniard wants something above all for his squad.

Arteta watched on from the Emirates Stadium sidelines as Newcastle United clinched a 2-0 semi-final first-leg win against his side, with goals from rumoured Arsenal transfer target Alexander Isak and England winger Anthony Gordon giving the north Londoners a real mountain to climb at St. James’ Park on February 5.

Arsenal are seriously missing star winger Saka’s output right now -who is expected to be out until March after undergoing surgery on his hamstring – and that is highlighted by Arteta’s men spurning a host of chances against Newcastle.

“Nothing – try to improve,” said Arteta on what Arsenal can do to be more clinical.

“You know, there are things that we could have done better. We were unlucky in moments. You need a certain luck for the ball to bounce there. You need that intuition as well, and if not, we’re going to have to generate more. That’s the thing that we can do. Then the probability will be higher for us to win, but certainly against this team to produce what we have produced, and looking back at the last six games that I watched, I haven’t seen it. But the result says 0-2, unfortunately.

“I think we kicked a lot of the balls over the bar, and it’s tricky because this ball flies a lot, and we discussed that as well. So there are details that we can do better. But, in the end, that’s gone. You know, this is no way back. It’s about the next game, and that’s the reality of our world.”

Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to sign Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams

Arsenal are believed to be scouring the market for a goalscoring winger to assist them in the final third, in place of the injured Saka, and you couldn’t do any better than Athletic Bilbao sensation Nico Williams in that respect.

The Spain international finished 23/24 with an impressive 19 assists and eight goals in all competitions, and Williams was a reported target for Arsenal in the summer window.

However, the £200,000-per-week winger appeared to decide on remaining at Bilbao, for this season at least, but that isn’t to say that a winter move is completely ruled out.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Arteta personally wants Arsenal to sign Williams in January, with the 22-year-old’s contract also possessing a buy-out clause of around £50 million.

That being said, a summer transfer is deemed more plausible, considering the total finances involved when factoring in wages. Williams also isn’t agitating to leave Bilbao right now, so Arsenal would seemingly need to make an offer he can’t refuse.

The Euro 2024 star has completed more successful take-ons per 90 than any other Bilbao player in La Liga this season, and is tied with his brother Inaki for shots attempted per match (WhoScored).