As things stand, Arsenal are second in the Premier League and third in the Champions League, yet it feels like their season is starting to come apart.

Mikel Arteta’s side are out of the FA Cup, most likely out of the League Cup, and while they still have a chance in the league, they sit six points off Liverpool, who have a game in hand, and on top of all of that, are set to be without the talismanic Bukayo Saka for months.

So, to get anything out of the season, the Gunners will either have to reach levels they haven’t even been near this year or bring in some game-changing reinforcements.

What they need is a player like Vinícius Júnior, who has, over the last few years, pulled Real Madrid over the line in the Champions League, and while they can’t get the Brazilan, Arsenal have once again been linked with a player who’s won comparisons to him.

Arsenal chase game-changing winger

According to a recent report from the Independent’s Chief Football Writer, Miguel Delaney, Arsenal are keen on Athletic Bilbao superstar, Nico Williams.

In fact, Delaney claims that Arteta ‘loves’ the Spanish winger but that one of the major barriers to completing a deal is his significant wage demands.

A potential price the Gunners would have to pay for the 22-year-old is not mentioned in the story, but reports from earlier this month reiterated that he has a release clause in his contract currently worth €60m – £50m – which adjusts for inflation and would have to be paid in full.

It could be an incredibly costly transfer to get over the line, but given William’s immense ability, it may well be worth it, especially as he’s won comparisons to Vinícius Júnior.

How William compares to Vinícius Júnior

Okay, before we get to some of the other reasons Arsenal should be pushing to sign Williams this month, let’s examine this comparison to Vinícius Júnior and where it has come from.

Well, it primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in La Liga, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and, in this instance, has concluded that the Brazilian is the ninth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Spaniard this season.

We can better understand how this conclusion was reached by looking at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, progressive passes and carries, key passes, passes into the penalty area, shot-creating actions and more, all per 90.

Progressive Passes

3.19

3.36

Progressive Carries

6.01

6.79

% of Shots on Target

30.0%

29.3%

Key Passes

2.17

2.21

Passes into the Penalty Area

1.52

1.60

Shot-Creating Actions

5.38

5.29

Successful Take-On %

35.9%

39.6%

Moreover, on top of the statistical comparisons to Vini, the “devastating” winger, as described by Emmanuel Petit, has also proven himself to be a big game player in the same vein as the Los Blancos star.

For example, he played the full 120 minutes of the Copa del Rey final against RCD Mallorca last season and provided the assist for Bilbao’s equaliser and then, at the European Championships, scored the opening goal against England in the final.

Finally, if that still wasn’t enough to convince you that the Pamplona-born star is someone worth breaking the bank on, then perhaps the fact that he’s produced 34 goal involvements since the start of last season is.

Ultimately, Arsenal need to sign someone who can help them salvage their season this month, and while he’ll cost a pretty penny, Williams may well be that someone.

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