Arteta wants to sign £165k-p/w star this month

While there is still a lot to play for this season, the mood around Arsenal is not great at the moment.

Mikel Arteta’s side remain a distant second in the Premier League and look set to exit the League Cup next month thanks to their 2-0 defeat against Newcastle United in the first leg of their semi-final last night.

The Gunners would have been hoping to take at least a one-goal lead to St James’ Park, but the Toon had other ideas, and while Alexander Isak grabbed the headlines, Anthony Gordon put in yet another brilliant performance off the left.

The former Everton star has been sensational for the Magpies this season and scored their second goal last night, so recent reports linking Arsenal to a winger compared to him should excite the fans.

Arsenal chase continental champion

According to a recent report from respected journalist David Ornstein, Arsenal have maintained their strong interest in Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams.

In fact, Ornstein claims that Arteta would like the club to sign the European champion in this window, but the finances involved would make that incredibly difficult to do.

For example, the talented winger has a release clause in his contract currently worth €60m – £50m – which adjusts for inflation, and on top of paying that in one go, the North Londoners would have to accommodate the player’s enormous wage, which supposedly stands at around £165k-per-week.

In all, it would be an incredibly costly transfer to get over the line, but given Williams’ ability and potential, it is one worth pursuing, especially as he’s been compared to Gordon.

How Williams compares to Gordon and why Arsenal should sign him

So, before we get to the reasons why Arsenal should be looking to sign Williams this month, let’s examine this comparison to Gordon and where it comes from.

Well, it primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and, in this instance, has concluded that the Englishman is the fourth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Spaniard over the last 365 days.

We can get a better understanding of how this conclusion was reached by looking at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, expected assists, shots, progressive passes, crosses, goal-creating actions, carries and more, all per 90.

With that said, there are other reasons the North Londoners should be looking to sign the Copa del Rey winner, perhaps most notably, his output.

Now, it would be fair to say that his tally of two goals and five assists in 24 appearances this season is somewhat underwhelming, but we saw just how effective the Spanish international could be last year.

For example, in just 37 appearances last season, the “unbelievable” live-wire, as dubbed by ex-professional Mike Grella, scored eight goals and provided 19 assists, meaning he maintained a sublime average of a goal involvement every 1.37 games – just imagine someone that effective on the opposite flank to Bukayo Saka.

Lastly, something the Gunners have been calling out for over the last season and a half is a left-winger who can, and often does, take on and beat their man, which is precisely what the Pamplona-born game-changer does.

For example, FBref places him in the top 6% of attacking midfielders or wingers across Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons per 90.

Ultimately, while signing Williams this month would represent a massive investment from Arsenal, it looks like he’d be an investment worth making.