Arsenal enjoyed a rather successful summer transfer window, but actually not overpaying for one of Mikel Arteta’s top targets could be Andrea Berta’s smartest move.
Andrea Berta made wholesale changes to Mikel Arteta’s squad over the summer, signing eight new players for the Gunners.
Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Martin Zubimendi were among the high-profile names who arrived in North London over the summer.
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Arsenal addressed most of the holes in their squad, although there was one key area in which they opted to stick with what they had after walking away from a deal for one of their key targets.
Nico Williams looks on prior to Spain vs France.
Photo by Maciej Rogowski/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
Mikel Arteta will be rejoicing Arsenal’s Nico Williams decision
Arteta will be relieved with Arsenal’s decision not to sign Nico Williams over the summer following his slow start to the new campaign.
After nine appearances for both club and country, the Spanish international has just one goal and two assists this season.
The winger played 90 minutes in Bilbao’s 1-0 defeat at home to Getafe, managing a low pass accuracy of just 64 per cent and four unsuccessful dribbles.
Apps Goals Assists
La Liga 6 1 1
Champions League 1 0 0
World Cup qualifiers 2 0 1
Total 9 1 2
Arteta had made Williams one of his top Arsenal targets, with the desire to add a left winger to his squad, given Gabriel Martinelli’s struggles.
Over the summer, Berta met with Williams’ camp about joining Arsenal, but a move for the winger never materialised, and he remained at Athletic Bilbao.
There was so much interest given that Williams had a £49 million release clause, with FC Barcelona also in the race for the 23-year-old.
Meanwhile, at Arsenal, Martinelli already has four goals, Eze has three assists, and Leandro Trossard is still popping up with crucial goals.
So, with Arsenal’s left-wing options thriving and Williams not performing so well, Arteta will be rather pleased to have held off on a deal to sign a new attacker in the end.
Mikel Arteta will be eager for Arsenal to get Noni Madueke back from injury
Noni Madueke has also made a great start to life in N5, which will leave Arteta feeling rather smug given the criticism he took for signing him.
Back in September, Madueke suffered a knee injury against Manchester City, which came at such an unfortunate moment for the former Chelsea player.
Right now, the 24-year-old is expected to make his return from injury towards the end of November, possibly for the North London derby.
Earlier this month, Arteta told the media: “Noni Madueke is getting closer to his return. We are optimistic. He’s going to start very soon to start to do some running and stuff and again let’s see how that reacts.”