Arsenal are preparing to pay over the odds in order to secure their priority signing.
The Gunners had a weekend to remember, smashing champions Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium in an emphatic performance. Manager Mikel Arteta was particularly complimentary of wonderkid scorers Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly after the game – both featuring in FourFourTwo's list of the most exciting teenagers to watch this season – with Arteta telling reporters, “When I put them next to the [more senior players], they feel that with them, they are as good or better.”
But despite the emergence of these two first-team talents, Arsenal are still looking to add to their squad with squality – and one “priority” signing is said to be so important to Arteta that he's willing to pay over the odds to secure his signature.
Arsenal are ready to pay way over the odds for £50m-rated superstar
Despite Nwaneri becoming a serious option on the right-wing for Arsenal, Arteta sees the 17-year-old's future as a no.8 or no.10 in the midfield and would still like to add a superstar attacker to his options in the summer.
The Gunners have been linked with the likes of Ollie Watkins in recent days, while Mathys Tel has been rumoured ahead of a likelier move across the Seven Sisters Road to Tottenham Hotspur.
A report from FootballTransfers says that Athletic Club's Nico Williams remains the priority target for Arsenal in attack, however, with the Basque superstar able to play on either flank.
Ranked at no.25 in FourFourTwo's list of the best players in the world right now, the report says that Arteta is so desperate to land the Euro 2024 winner that he's even willing to pay over the €58 million release clause. This would enable the Gunners out a deal that amortises the cost of the player over several seasons rather than releasing one payment, to satisfy Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
There has been talk that the heavily-rumoured and fellow Basque talent Martin Zubimendi could also be subject of a similar deal that sees Arsenal's bid for his services exceed the £51m release clause needed to trigger his sale – so that the North Londoners can stagger installments of money to his club, Real Sociedad.
In FourFourTwo's opinion, however, the key factor that jeopardises any such deal for Williams are his wages – with his current situation at odds with Arsenal's recent transfer strategy.
The 22-year-old would be expensive to sign, with salary aggregator site Capology claiming that he earns a base wage of around €200,000-a-week. Were he to move to N5, his demands would likely put him in Arsenal's top bracket of earners alongside the likes of Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz.
Not only is this a risky move for a player unproven in the Premier League, it's a complete deviation from the club only breaking the bank in recent seasons for players from fellow English clubs, such as Havertz, Declan Rice, Ben White and Gabriel Jesus – both in terms of wages and transfer fee. The exit of sporting director Edu Gaspar may well facilitate a change of direction – but it feels incredibly speculative nonetheless.
It seems highly more likely that Arsenal explore alternative moves for more attainable targets at prices they prefer.
Transfermarkt currently estimates Williams' true worth to be around €70 million. Arsenal travel to St. James' Park this week in League Cup action, as they look to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the second leg of the competition's semi-finals.
