It’s long been believed that Mikel Arteta would absolutely love to sign Nico Williams for Arsenal.
Nico Williams starred for Spain at last summer’s Euros and Arsenal and other top European clubs have seemingly been obsessed with the winger ever since.
In fact, Arsenal did want to sign Williams last summer, only for the Spaniard to opt for another season at his boyhood side Athletic Club.
One year on, Arsenal have spoken to Williams again, and there is now the belief that a deal could be more plausible in the months to come.
However, in a summer in which Arsenal are signing Martin Zubimendi and also a big-name striker, recruiting Williams as well might be very difficult.
And perhaps that’s where former Gunners boss Unai Emery might help.
Arsenal need to convince Unai Emery to sell Ollie Watkins
As mentioned, Arsenal need to sign a striker this summer — Kai Havertz needs more help next season.
And whilst signing Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres might be the Gunners’ preference right now, Arsenal are still interested in Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa.
Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images
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Moreover, given that Villa are reportedly experiencing some PSR concerns right now, perhaps Arsenal could sign Ollie Watkins for a fairly reasonable price.
Watkins turns 30 this year and with Arsenal seeking a ‘win now’ striker, Villa also might need to raise funds and now could be a good time to cash-in.
Of course, that’s where Emery would need to come in to help Arsenal somewhat — he’d need to sign off on Watkins’ departure.
Watkins is an Arsenal fan so one would imagine there would not be an issue in convincing him to head to north London, were Villa willing to sell such a loyal servant.
Ollie Watkins deal could leave room for Arsenal to sign Nico Williams
In terms of how that would help Arsenal sign Williams, the Gunners might be able to spend almost half the fee that someone like Sesko would cost if they did opt for Watkins.
Williams would have very big wage demands coming from Athletic Club where he’s already matching some of Arsenal’s highest earners.
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And therefore, being able to move those funds around that were saved by opting for a more economical striker move could be crucial.
It’s not always as simple as that, but achieving something of a bargain on the striker front, for a number nine that could still help Arsenal win trophies, would surely be a big positive.
And if Arsenal were to have Watkins, Zubimendi and Williams all in their side for next season, one would imagine that fans in N5 would be pretty content.
But that idea would hinge on Emery saying ‘yes’ on Watkins to Arsenal, which the former Gunners boss might be reluctant to do.