Arsenal-linked forward Nico Williams was in unstoppable form yesterday as he helped Athletic Club advance to the final of the Copa del Rey at the expense of Atletico Madrid, recording one goal and an assist in the contest.
He set up his brother Iñaki Williams for the first goal and scored the second with a first-time finish before Gorka Guruzeta completed the scoring to ensure Athletic won 4-0 on aggregate.
The performance of the 21-year-old couldn’t have come at a better time as Arsenal have been linked with Chelsea flop Mykhailo Mudryk this week who the Gunners had attempted to sign before his move to Stamford Bridge.
The left winger has played a huge role for Athletic this season who are vying to finish in the top four and on the course of winning their first Copa del Rey title for the first time in 40 years, registering 17 goal involvements in all competitions.
The Spain international is growing in leaps and bounds which is evident in his goal involvement and would be a great addition to Mikel Arteta’s side.
With his speed and directness, he will provide huge competition for Gabriel Martinelli, and a brief comparison between both players in the La Liga and Premier League respectively this season shows that.
Williams has more goal contributions(9) than Martinelli (8) despite playing fewer games, edges the latter for involvement in the final third registering shot-creating actions(5.28) than the latter’s(4.11) and has also completed 46% of his dribbles as opposed to the Brazilian’s 34.7%, according to fbref.com.
Not only will he provide competition for Martinelli, but he can also serve as a backup for Bukayo Saka as he can play on the right, having featured mostly in that position last season, mustering seven goals and six assists.
Back to Mudryk, the Ukrainian has shown no reason why we should go back for him-has failed to break into the starting lineup and his cameo appearances have been far from convincing, his display in the Carabao Cup final against a weakened Liverpool side underscores that.
More so, the Blues will try as much as possible to get a sizable fee for his transfer having spent a huge fortune for him, which makes no economic sense for Arsenal.
Therefore, a move for Williams is more logical and profitable for the Gunners than the Chelsea flop at the moment.
Abdulhamid Abdulkareem
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