Arteta wants to sign a £165,000-a-week star this month

Although there is still a lot to play for this season, the mood is prevailing Arsenal Not great at the moment.

Mikel Arteta The side remains in second place by a large margin Premier League She looks ready to go out League Cup next month thanks to their 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the first leg of their semi-final last night.

The Gunners were hoping to take at least a one-goal lead at St James' Park, but Toon had other ideas, and while Alexander Isak grabbed the headlines, Anthony Gordon Another great performance from the left flank.

The former Everton star has been sensational for the Magpies this season and scored their second goal last night, so recent reports linking Arsenal with a winger compared to him should excite fans.

Arsenal is chasing the continental champion

According to a recent report From respected journalist David OrnsteinArsenal have maintained a strong interest in Athletic Bilbao's Neco Williams.

In fact, Ornstein claims that Arteta would like the club to sign the European champions in this window, but the finances involved would make it extremely difficult to do so.

For example, the talented winger has a release clause in his contract currently worth €60m – £50m – which adjusts for inflation, and on top of paying that in one lump sum, the north Londoners will have to absorb the player's massive wage, which It should amount to around £165,000 per week.

Overall, getting over the line would be very costly, but given Williams' ability and potential, it's something worth pursuing, especially since he's been compared to Gordon.

How Williams compares to Gordon and why Arsenal should sign him

So, before we get to the reasons why Arsenal should be looking to sign Williams this month, let's examine this comparison with Gordon and where it came from.

Well, that It stems primarily from FBrefwhich compares players in similar positions in Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten players most similar to each, and in this case, it concludes that the English player is the fourth most similar to an attacking midfielder or Winger to Spaniard over the last 365 days.

We can get a better understanding of how this conclusion was reached by looking at the key metrics in which the pair are closely ranked, including, but not limited to, expected assists, shots, progressive passes, crosses, goal creation moves and carries. And more. , all in 90.

However, there are other reasons why the north Londoners would be looking to sign the King's Cup winner, perhaps most notably his production.

Now, it would be fair to say that his credit Two goals and five assists Making 24 appearances this season is somewhat disappointing, but we saw how effective the Spain international was last year.

For example, in just 37 matches last season, the “Unbelievable”, as it was called, was broadcast live. By former pro Mike GrellaAnd he scored Eight goals and 19 assistsWhich means he has maintained an impressive rate of goal involvement every 1.37 games – just imagine someone effective opposite Bukayo Saka.

Finally, something the Gunners have been clamoring for over the past season and a half is a left winger who can, and often does, outmaneuver and outmaneuver their player, which is exactly what the Pamplona-born game-changer does.

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For example, FBref puts it in the top 6% Of attacking midfielders or wingers in Europe's top five leagues who have successfully dribbled the ball per 90.

Ultimately, while signing Williams this month would represent a huge investment from Arsenal, it looks like it will be an investment worth making.

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