With another impressive win in the bag last night, things are starting to look promising for Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta's side are still seven points off league leaders Liverpool and behind Chelsea on goal difference, but they are looking incredibly dangerous and very much in this title race.
However, with two teams having scored more than them at the moment, there is room to improve in attack.
arsenal-premier-league
Fortunately, recent reports have linked the club with a sensationally gifted talent who could be an ideal upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli and help Bukayo Saka get even better.
Arsenal transfer news
According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal are one of several sides interested in signing Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams.
Nico Williams Inaki Williams Oihan Sancet
Alongside the Gunners, the report claims that Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are 'leading the race from the Premier League' while Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are 'keeping a close eye' on developments.
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 wingers' signature, as the report confirms the existence of a €58m release clause in his current contract, which converts to around £48m.
Spain's Nico Williams celebrates scoring their sixth goal
It's still a sizeable sum of money, and the transfer could be incredibly complicated to get over the line, but given Williams' ability and potential to be an upgrade over Martinelli, it's a transfer worth pursuing, especially as he could help Saka get even better.
Why Arsenal should sign Williams
So, before we look at how Williams' arrival could help Saka, let's look at how he compares to Martinelli, as being a leftwinger, the Brazilian would be his natural long-term rival at the Emirates.
Spain star Nico Williams
However, you wouldn't think there'd be much of a rivalry at all when looking at their output from 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 Lowy, has scored ten goals and provided 24 assists, which works out to an incredible average of a goal involvement every 1.64 games.
Williams vs Martinelli
23/24
Appearances
Goals
Assists
Goal Involvements per Match
24/25
Appearances
Goals
Assists
Goal Involvements per Match
All Stats via Transfermarkt
In contrast, the former Ituano gem has scored 12 goals and provided eight assists in 63 appearances across the same period, equating to a far less impressive average of a goal involvement every 3.15 games.
This stark difference in output would also help Saka reach another level for two reasons.
The first is the simple fact that he'd have a teammate who seemingly provides assists for fun, which in turn could see him take up even more of the goalscoring burden off the right and rival the likes of Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot.
The second reason is that with the 22-year-old "level-raiser", as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, playing off the left, the Hale End icon would have far more space to operate, as opposing defenders would no longer be able to double and triple up on him when there is another dynamic and incredibly dangerous winger on the other side of the pitch.
Nico-Williams-fbref-stats
This change would also help the likes of Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz for the same reasons and, therefore, potentially help the entire front line increase their already impressive level of output.
Ultimately, Arsenal are one of the most dangerous teams in the league, but by signing Williams, they could reach another level, both through his raw output and the space his presence would free up elsewhere on the pitch.
Therefore, the North Londoners must activate the Spaniard's release clause before someone else beats them to it.
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