Mikel Arteta has changed his mind about ‘world-class’ forward and wants Arsenal to sign him now

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has made a U-turn about one player after watching him at Euro 2024.

The Gunners are on the market looking to strengthen multiple areas of their pitch. So far, they have only turned David Raya’s loan into a permanent deal, but a few more additions are expected in the coming weeks.

Many Arsenal fans want Arteta to strengthen his attack. A new striker or a wide player is expected to be high on the agenda, and the North Londoners have been linked with plenty of names.

An update has now emerged about one of them.

Mikel Arteta has changed his mind about Arsenal target Nico Williams

Nico Williams has been a wanted man for a few months now.

The 22-year-old had a fantastic 2023/24 season at Athletic Bilbao. He scored eight goals and provided 19 assists in all competitions and was one of the best players in La Liga.

That alerted a lot of clubs across Europe, and among them were Arsenal, who were really interested in signing the ‘world-class‘ Williams this summer.

However, back in June, reports revealed that Arsenal had backed away from signing Williams because of his crazy wage demands.

It was revealed that Williams is demanding a salary of nearly £300,000-a-week – that’s more than every player at Arsenal right now.

However, GiveMeSport have now claimed that Arteta has changed his mind.

Since watching Williams star for Spain at Euro 2024, the Arsenal boss is said to have reconsidered his stance ‘after initially cooling his interest when the personal terms he is seeking came to light’.

It remains to be seen if Arsenal can strike a deal with Williams ahead of other clubs interested in the race to sign him this summer.

Arsenal signing Williams could cause internal problems

Williams is probably the best attacking talent currently available on the market.

The Spaniard is rapid, extremely skilful, possesses incredible dribbling and his numbers show that he can consistently contribute to goals. The fact that he’s still only 22 means he will only get better in the years to come.

Williams could really take Arsenal’s attack to the next level, but if the Gunners agree to pay him eye-watering wages like £300,000-a-week, it could lead to some internal issues.

Arsenal’s current stars – Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz – all earn less than that figure above (Spotrac).

If a 22-year-old, who is less established than the names above, comes in and suddenly starts making more money, it won’t be a surprise at all to see some disharmony within the squad.

That’s the last thing Arteta would want considering he has worked so hard in recent years to fix the very issue at the Emirates.