Arsenal targeting "one of the best wingers" for £48m

The mood around Arsenal at the moment is an odd one.

On the one hand, the North Londoners have a record of ten wins and two draws in their last 12 games, but on the other, they still find themselves six points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand to boot.

Mikel Arteta’s side are playing well, in no small part thanks to Gabriel Jesus’ return to form, but there is a distinct feeling that they could go up yet another level, and that they must if they want to claim the title come May.

Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates

Fortunately, recent reports have linked the club to a sensational winger could help them do that and help Jesus get even better to boot.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Football Transfers, Arsenal are once again keen to sign Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams this year.

In fact, the report claims that the Gunners are in ‘ongoing discussions with the player’s agent’ and that should they get the green light from the player, they’ll activate his €58m release clause this month, which converts to around £48m.

While the Gunners were interested in the Spanish international over the summer, the report has revealed that the recent injury to Bukayo Saka has been the catalyst for this new urgency to get this deal done by the North Londoners.

It’s still a lot of money to spend on a 22-year-old, but given Williams’ incredible ability and how he could help the likes of Jesus get even better, it looks like it would be money very well spent.

Why Williams would be an excellent signing for Arsenal & Jesus

So, while there are likely a number of reasons why Williams would be a brilliant addition to Arsenal’s squad, from his age profile to the marketability he might have, the primary reason he’d be a dream signing for the club and Jesus, for that matter, is his ability and output.

Now, it is true that his return of two goals and five assists in 23 games this season is hardly world-class, but he was simply unplayable last season, and if he could do it before, there is no reason to think he couldn’t do it again.

For example, in just 37 appearances, the European champion, whom analyst Ben Mattinson described as “one of the best wingers on the market,” scored eight goals and provided 19 assists, equating to a goal involvement on average every 1.37 games.

Williams’ 23/24
Appearances	37
Minutes	2729′
Goals	8
Assists	19
Goal Involvements per Match	0.72
Minutes per Goal Involvement	101.07′
All Stats via Transfermarkt

Now, while his goalscoring ability is certainly impressive and would undoubtedly help the team as a whole, it’s his incredible ability to provide assist after assist that would make him such a brilliant teammate for Jesus.

For example, the player with the most assists for the Gunners last season was Saka with 14, and then Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice were the only other players to reach double figures, with 11 and ten, respectively.

Finally, another aspect of the 22-year-old’s game that would make him a dream to play alongside for the Brazilian is his directness.

According to FBref, which compares players across Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, the Pamplona-born dynamo sits in the top 7% of attacking midfielders and wingers for progressive carries and successful take-ons per 90.

This suggests he’d be able to reliably beat his man on the outside and then fire a pass across the box for Jesus to get on the end of and put away.

Ultimately, while Arsenal have a number of talented left-wingers at the club, none of them seem able to reliably supply their teammates in the same way Williams is, and therefore, Arteta and Co should do what they can to bring him to the Emirates this summer.