There are still a couple of months of the season left to play, and following Tuesday night’s sensational result in the Champions League, we aren’t sure many Arsenal fans will be thinking about the transfer window.
However, the club certainly are, and they seem intent on improving the first team to make sure Mikel Arteta’s side have a far more successful Premier League campaign next year.
Moreover, while signing a new striker will undoubtedly be one of the club’s key objectives, there are other areas of the team that need reinforcing.
Recent reports suggest this is an opinion shared by the board, as the latest player touted for a move to the N5 is a winger who’d not only improve the starting lineup but also help the incredible Myles Lewis-Skelly reach another level.
Arsenal transfer news
On top of playing them off the park, reports have come out in recent weeks claiming that Arsenal are keen on signing Real Madrid’s Arda Güler.
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The North Londoners are supposedly keen on paying around €30m for the Turkish prospect, which is about £26m, and considering he’s racked up a tally of ten goal involvements in just 1170 minutes, that might prove to be great value.
Another young talent the club are said to be interested in is German wonderkid, Florian Wirtz.
The Bayer Leverkusen star has scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists in just 39 games this season, but would cost around £112m, making it a transfer that seems rather unlikely, which might not be the case regarding Nico Williams.
Yes, according to a recent report from Spain, the Gunners are planning to ‘secure the signing’ of the Spain international this summer.
The report further reveals that the bid for the Athletic Bilbao star is now ‘underway.’
However, to ensure they get their man, the North Londoners will have to stump up enough cash to activate his €60m release clause, which converts to around £52m.
It would be an expensive deal to get over the line, but given Williams’ ability and potential, it is one worth fighting for, especially as he’d help Lewis-Skelly reach another level.
Why Williams would help Lewis-Skelly
So, if Arsenal are able to get their man in the coming weeks, there are two fundamental and intertwined reasons why Williams would be great for Lewis-Skelly, and the first is his output.
Since the start of last season, the Spain international has proven himself to be “one of the best wingers on the market” in the words of data analyst Ben Mattinson. He’s been a reliable source of goals and assists for Bilbao, scoring 17 of the former and providing 25 of the latter in just 76 appearances.
That means that despite still being just 22 years old, the Pamplona-born “level-raiser,” as Mattinson dubbed him, is averaging a goal involvement every 1.80 games.
Appearances
37
39
Minutes
2729′
2752′
Goals
8
9
Assists
18
7
Goal Involvements per Match
0.70
0.41
Goal Involvements per Minute
104.96′
172′
Now, just imagine how a consistent level of output like that from the winger in front of the Hale Ender would improve his own, be that from getting on the end of passes and slotting home the ball himself or playing a perfect ball over the opposite full-back for the winger to get on the end of and finish a move.
Lewis-Skelly has already proven himself a fantastic progresser of the football and the idea of him playing alongside such a dazzling winger on the left is a tantalising one. Ranking in the top 14% of positionally similar players in the top-flight for passes into the final third, Williams would know he’s going to receive plenty of service, and exceptional service at that.
Having such a frightening winger may well also free up extra room for the teenage superstar to operate in. Lewis-Skelly attracts and glides through opponents like a knife through butter as it is but with Williams in tandem, the left side of Arsenal’s attack would be truly menacing.
Ultimately, signing Williams would be good for the whole Arsenal team, but having him start ahead of Lewis-Skelly could help get so much more out of the already incredible teenager.
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