While Arsenal have plenty of talented players in their squad, there is one star who most fans would now class as their best: Bukayo Saka.
The Hale End icon has become a lean, mean output machine in recent seasons, as even though he missed over three months of action this year, he ended the campaign with a sensational haul of 12 goals and 14 assists in 37 games.
Unfortunately, Mikel Arteta’s options for off the left have not been nearly as effective, with Gabriel Martinelli chalking up 16 goal involvements in 51 games and Leandro Trossard doing marginally better with 20 in 56 games.
So, with that in mind, it’s hardly been a surprise to see the club linked with a host of brilliant left-wingers in recent weeks, with one of the most notable links being to Rodrygo – although recent reports have now touted a player compared to the Brazilian and Saka for a move to Arsenal this summer.
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As mentioned, the last few weeks and months have seen Arsenal linked with many talented left-wing options, from the versatile Xavi Simons at RB Leipzig to the soon-to-be free agent of Leroy Sané.
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Yet, one of the names that has caused the most excitement among the fans, and understandably so, has been Rodrygo.
The 24-year-old has won all there is to win in the club game with Real Madrid, and according to most reports from the last month or so, could be available for around £85m unless something changes with new boss Xabi Alonso.
However, with the required fee being so high, it’s unsurprising to see the club continue to be linked with other options, and now someone who has been compared to Saka and the Brazilian has reentered the frame in a big way.
According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal have retained their intense interest in Nico Williams.
In fact, the report has now revealed that the Gunners are ‘very close to signing’ the Athletic Bilbao star, despite the La Liga side’s desire to keep him for another season.
The report has revealed that for the North Londoners to get their man, whom Arteta has made ‘a priority,’ they’ll have to pay his release clause, which, according to stories from earlier this week, stands at about £50m.
While it would be a lot of money to spend on a 22-year-old, it would be more than worth it thanks to his ability and the comparisons to Saka and Rodrygo.
How Williams compares to Saka & Rodrygo
So before addressing the other reasons why Arsenal might want to sign Williams this summer, it’s important to examine these comparisons to Saka and Rodrygo and where they come from.
In both cases, they stem from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, and then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each.
In this instance, it was concluded that the Brazilian was the most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Spaniard across the last 365 days, while the Englishman was the tenth most similar.
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.35
0.32
Non-Penalty G+As
0.45
0.51
Progressive Carries
5.32
5.28
Shots
2.43
2.52
Shots on Target
0.86
0.93
Expected Assists
0.19
0.20
Passes into the Penalty Area
1.31
1.21
Shot-Creating Actions
5.05
4.95
Blocks
0.90
0.84
The best way to understand how these conclusions were reached is by looking at the underlying numbers in which the players rank closely, which, in the case of the Real Madrid star, include metrics like non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive carries, shots and shots on target, passes into the penalty area and more, all per 90.
For the Gunners’ gem, the metrics in which he’s incredibly similar to the Bilbao star include things like tackles won, clearances, carries into the penalty area and non-penalty goals per 90, suggesting he can do some of the defensive work the Englishman so often carries out for the Gunners.
Non-Penalty Goals
0.23
0.26
Tackles Won
0.81
0.78
Clearances
0.41
0.42
Carries
31.4
32.7
Carries into the Penalty Area
2.61
2.66
Aerial Duels Won
0.50
0.52
On top of these flattering and incredibly encouraging comparisons to two of the best wingers around, Arteta and Co should also be going all out to sign the 22-year-old “level-raiser,” as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, because he’s a reliable source of goals and assists.
For example, since the start of last season, the Pamplona-born dynamo has scored 19 goals and provided 25 assists in 82 appearances, which comes out to a brilliant average of a goal involvement every 1.86 games.
Ultimately, while some fans may prefer the bigger name in Rodrygo, it looks like Arsenal are on track to sign one of the most exciting wingers in the game in Williams, and given his age, there is plenty of scope for him to get even better.
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