With another impressive win in the bag last night, things are starting to look promising Arsenal.
by Mikel Arteta side is still seven points off leaders Liverpool and behind Chelsea on goal difference, but they look incredibly dangerous and very much in this title race.
However, with two teams having scored more than them at the moment, there is room for improvement in attack.
Fortunately, recent reports have linked the club with an impressively gifted talent who could be an ideal upgrade Gabriel Martinelli and help Bucayo Saka become even better.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from SpainArsenal are one of several clubs interested in signing Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams.
Along with the Gunners, the publication claims that Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham are “leading the race from the Premier League”, while Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are “watching closely”.
While this level of competition is far from ideal, the good news is that the North Londoners won’t have to pay an arm and a leg to secure the winger’s signature, as the report confirms the existence of a €58m release clause. current contract, which converts to around £48m.
It’s still a significant amount of money and the transfer could be incredibly complicated to get over the line, but given Williams’ ability and potential to upgrade Martinelli, it’s a move worth pursuing, especially as he could help Saka to become even better.
Why Arsenal should sign Williams
So before we look at how Williams’ arrival could help Saka, let’s see how he compares to Martinelli, being a left-back, the Brazilian would be his natural long-term rival at the Emirates.
However, you wouldn’t think there would be much competition when you look at their performance since the start of last season, as to say the Spaniard blows the Gunners’ number 11 out of the water would be an understatement.
For example, in 56 appearances since the start of 23/24, the ‘world class’ dynamo, as dubbed by journalist Zach Lowyhe has scored ten goals and provided 24 assistswhich translates to an incredible average of a goal participation every 1.64 games.
|
Williams vs Martinelli |
||
|---|---|---|
|
23/24 |
||
|
Appearances |
37 |
44 |
|
Goals |
8 |
8 |
|
It helps |
19 |
5 |
|
Goal contributions per match |
0.72 |
0.29 |
|
24/25 |
||
|
Appearances |
19 |
19 |
|
Goals |
2 |
4 |
|
It helps |
5 |
3 |
|
Goal contributions per match |
0.36 |
0.36 |
|
All stats via Transfermarkt |
||
Instead, the former Ituano gem has scored 12 goals and 8 assists in 63 appearances over the same period, which equates to a far less impressive average of being involved in a goal every 3.15 games.
This stark difference in production would also help Saka reach another level for two reasons.
The first is the simple fact that he would have a team-mate who seemingly assists for fun, which in turn could see him take on even more of the goal-scoring burden from the right and compete with Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland for the Golden. Boot.
The second reason is that with the 22-year-old “leveling up”, as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson;playing on the left, the Hale End icon would have much more space to operate as opposition defenders would no longer be able to double and triple against him when there is another dynamic and incredibly dangerous winger on the other side of the pitch.
This change would also help Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz for the same reasons, and therefore potentially help the entire front line increase their already impressive level of production.
Ultimately, Arsenal are one of the most dangerous teams in the league, but with the signing of Williams, they could take it to another level, both through his raw performance and the space his presence would free up elsewhere in the pitch. space.
As such, the North Londoners must trigger the Spaniard’s release clause before someone else beats them to it.
