Inaki Williams Would Be A Surplus To Arsenal’s Requirements

Athletic Bilbao’s young forward Inaki Williams has recently been linked with a move to Arsenal. Do the Gunners not already have players with his strengths?

Athletic Bilbao’s 21-year-old forward Inaki Williams has been linked with a move to Arsenal, according to The Telegraph. Williams is linked with multiple top Premier League clubs, but as Arsenal have reportedly just sent scouts to Bilbao it felt like the right time to address this rumor.

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A Liberian-born Spaniard, Inaki Williams is a winger and forward player with blistering pace, strength and dribbling ability. He has good finishing, too, with ten goals in 21 appearances in all competitions this season.

Inaki Williams started the season as a raw talent of unknown quality. At the halfway mark, we have seen him prove himself to Ernesto Valverde as a good player for the rebuilding Bilbao side. The young Spaniard has held down a first-team place at the age of just 21.

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The price tag mentioned has been volatile, but Marca reports that Williams’ contract has a £15.3m release clause in it. Due to the Premier League suitors, Athletic Club are attempting to sign Williams to a new contract that will make his release clause upwards of £70m.

It would be very interesting to see Williams in the Arsenal team – however, there are multiple roadblocks with this transfer.

After the recent signing of midfielder Mohamed Elneny, Arsene Wenger will probably be cautious with his funds for the rest of this January window. According to ESPNFC, Wenger already said in an interview that spending was “unlikely” to continue. It’s unlikely enough that Arsenal’s gaffer will cash out on two unknown quantities.

Aside from the unlikelihood of Wenger spending more, Williams isn’t somebody Arsenal need to get better. The 21-year-old is a winger-come striker, still discovering his best position. Arsenal already have one of those players in Theo Walcott. If Walcott could possibly be moved on, Williams would be a perfect replacement – and technically an upgrade considering his massive potential. However, it looks very unlikely that Walcott will leave at the moment.

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Even if the sale of Walcott and purchase of Williams were given the go-ahead, Arsene Wenger has barely rotated the lone striker this season. Though Wenger has played two up front from time to time in 2015/16, it’s clear he has trust in Olivier Giroud to lead the line, and that trust cannot be compromised. By signing a new young talent, Wenger might offset Giroud’s confidence and ruin the Frenchman’s good form.

In conclusion, Inaki Williams to Arsenal seems like an unlikely transfer. It does not seem beyond Wenger and the backroom to go for this kind of player, but there are players similar to the Spaniard already in the Arsenal ranks.

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In my opinion, it’s good to take risks on players in football. Seeing a new young striker emerge at the Emirates would be great; but there seems to be little space for new young starlets in the team right now.