James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that if Arsenal are to sign a wide player this summer, Nico Williams would be Mikel Arteta’s preferred target.
Arsenal have been linked with Williams for a while, though his impressive performances at Euro 2024 have seen Barcelona rise to the fore in the race.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta even told the media recently that they could afford Williams, saying: “Economically speaking, we could commit to the signing of Nico Williams.
“Nico’s a player I like — I like him a lot. We are working with [new coach Hansi] Flick on possible signings.”
Chelsea were also in the race earlier on, though Fabrizio Romano then reported that they had no plans to activate Nico Williams’ release clause and sign him this summer, believing the current package to be too expensive.
Though Chelsea admire Williams, the player’s release clause requiring the bulk of the payment being made upfront turned them off the deal, as well as his high salary requests.
Charles Watts then wrote that Arsenal are admirers of Williams, but they may have financial concerns of their own.
The £50m release clause is complicated by the fact the clause has to be paid in full immediately, meaning the club can’t spread the fee out over the length of the contract.
David Ornstein confirmed in May that Williams was among the options Arsenal liked, adding that there were other teams in the race, and no guarantee Williams would leave his current club.
Williams scored eight goals and provided 19 assists in 37 appearances for Athletic Club in 2023/24, and he’s now with Spain for Euro 2024.