The £87m mistake Arsenal must avoid making in the summer transfer windowplaceholder image
The £87m mistake Arsenal must avoid making in the summer transfer window | Getty Images
Arsenal have been linked with a big-money summer signing - but it's a move which could prove to be a mistake.
Arsenal have finally put themselves in a promising position to win some silverware this season, but even the most ardent supporter would struggle to say that the Gunners have been perfect – after all, they are current only pace to finish with 83 points, which would be the lowest total by a Premier League champion since Leicester City a decade ago.
Their defence has been outstanding but there is certainly room for improvement in the final third, with left wing becoming a problem position. Gabriel Martinelli has never quite rediscovered the extraordinary form of the 2022/23 season, and both Leandro Trossard and Eberchi Eze seem better suited to a more central role.
It’s an issue which Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta is likely to grapple with come the summer, potentially at considerable expense, and recent reports suggest that they have not given up hope of signing a key target from last summer – Athletic Club’s Nico Williams. The Spaniard could well be available at the end of the season, it seems, but would spending as much as £87m be a good use of Arsenal’s resources?
Why Nico Williams could be available this summer – and why Arsenal would be keen
A handful of recent media reports, including one from TeamTalk on Monday, suggests that Williams’ representatives are cautiously reaching out to elite sides to hint that he would be open to a move this summer should the right project present itself, and that the 10-year contract he signed with Athletic last summer might not prevent him from leaving San Mamés.
Williams apparently chose to commit his future to his boyhood club in spite of interest from Arsenal and Barcelona, who were particularly interested in signing him, but Athletic’s disappointing season in Spain appears to have prompted a rethink.
And while Athletic are clearly in a distinctly powerful negotiating position given the extreme length of Williams’ contract, the minimum fee release clause included in it means that the 23-year-old would be available for €100m (£87m). Steep, but not outside the means of a side like Arsenal.
With left wing a continuing headache despite the arrival of Eze, who has only occasionally been deployed out wide and is typically at his best in a number 10 role, Arsenal may well explore a move for the winger again come the summer, especially with Barcelona’s precarious financial position likely to exclude them from any bidding war which emerges.
Given that Williams is a proven difference-maker who scored the opening goal against England in the final of Euro 2024 and a player blessed with truly electric acceleration, he seems likely to be precisely the kind of player Arsenal would want. He’s got the technical chops to work within Mikel Arteta’s system and has demonstrated the capacity to turn matches on their head. He could offer Arsenal the kind of threatening directness that they have been lacking at times, at least when compared to other elite sides.
There’s just one significant problem – Williams’ fitness. Persistent health problems have prevent him from clearing the bar he has set himself this season, and seem unlikely to be fully resolved by the time next season comes around…
Why Arsenal should look elsewhere in the coming transfer window
While there is little question about Williams’ quality or the heights he has proven himself capable of scaling, there is a serious question about how badly his game has been affected by a persistent groin problem over the course of the past year or so.
Williams is dealing with pubalgia, a painful condition which isn’t preventing him from playing but which certainly seems to be hampering him. He has been less consistent, less impressive and simply less impactful this season than he has in the past.
Williams has managed just four goals and three assists in La Liga so far this season, and while Athletic’s form – they sit a disappointing ninth in the table – is cited as a cause for his interest in a summer transfer, it’s also partly a result of the fact that Williams hasn’t been as dangerous as is usually the case.
Thanks to pubalgia, he has only been able to play the full 90 minutes three times in La Liga this season, and while there had been reports that he would rest for up to two months this winter in order to allow the damage to heal, that ended up proving not to be the case – apparently conscious of the need to find his top form in order to ensure his place in Spain’s World Cup squad, Williams has pressed on.
And should he make the Spain squad (not a guarantee as he hasn’t been selected since September, partly due to his fitness) then the two months’ rest he may need to get back to full health would be denied to him this summer, and he would be heading into the 2026/27 campaign in need of either a lengthy break.
Should Arsenal sign him, then, they would either need to resign themselves to spending up to £87m – Athletic are not likely to negotiate a lower fee – on a player who immediately needs to spend a period of time rehabilitating, or risk the distinct possibility that his poor form continues as a result of his condition.
During a summer in which Williams didn’t have a major international tournament to worry about, he would probably be a fine signing. He is a thrilling player capable of torturing defenders who can’t keep up with his quick feet and lightning pace – but he’s also struggling right now, and needs a break he doesn’t seem likely to get. If Arsenal want to build a team which will be at the top of the table next year as well, they may be best served looking elsewhere.
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