All summer, Arsenal was linked with a move for a dynamic winger who could compete with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. Yes, Arsenal eventually signed Raheem Sterling, but before him, Spanish winger Nico Williams was one player they were keen on.
Williams shined in 2023-24, single-handedly steering Athletic Bilbao to one of its finest league runs with his 8 goals and 19 assists in 37 games. He capped his excellent performances with Bilbao with outstanding performances at the Euros, stepping up and giving Spain a European triumph, not only with his two goals but also with his dribbling, trickery, and ability to take on defenders, laying the groundwork for Spain’s dominance over opponents.
Most teams wanted to sign him after his brilliant performance last season and at Euro 24. His £47 million release clause was tempting to use. However, rumours circulated that his salary demands had scared off teams such as Arsenal. He didn’t leave Bilbao, so is there a reason to be disappointed that he didn’t make the switch to Arsenal?
Williams’ performances this season haven’t exactly made headlines, so there’s really no need to be disappointed she didn’t sign. This season, he has only one goal and no assists in eight games across all competitions. If he were Gabriel Martinelli, some would consider him finished. Despite facing criticism all summer, the Brazilian winger now boasts a goal and two assists, which is promising.
The plan may have been for Williams to replace Martinelli, but clearly that would not be an upgrade. We often overlook what we have when we’re surrounded by shiny new toys, yet almost every footballer experiences a period of poor performance. Williams did not join Arsenal, and there is absolutely no need to regret that decision.
Darren N
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
The headline of the article is somewhat misleading. Arsenal was never realistically in with a chance of signing Williams in the summer. The clear favourites were Barcelona who had made him their top (only) priority.
However, Williams made it clear on several occasions (reported in the Spanish press, but not so much here) that he had no intention of leaving Athletic Bilbao in the summer, even to go to Barcelona (which, along with Real Madrid, remains “the” big draw for players in Spain).
He hasn’t been on good form this season (so far) so on that evidence it’s probably a good thing Arsenal didn’t sign him but, there again, they never were going to.
The difference is also in the players you have in your team.
There’s a chance that if Nico was at Arsenal, he could play brightly!
And Martinelli, on the contrary, faded away at an average club.
Arsenal tried to sign him, but failed because he decided to stay and he will most likely join Barca next summer. Arteta wants a competitive squad and Nico was probably meant to compete on several positions, not to ”replace Martinelli”, only a big fan of the brazilian can see it that way. And imo Nico is the better player, and also the perfect kind of versatile player we need to increase the overall quality of the attack.
I think we will see an improvement in Martinelli this year, with the additions in the defense and midfield.
Calafiori as LB is a massive upgrade over Zinchenko, and Calafiori is a plus defender which helps Martinelli on the left side.
Merino as a LCM will improve his performances as well, so I look forward to Martinelli getting back to the form we saw 2 years ago.