Nico Williams’ agent has confirmed that Arsenal were among the clubs that wanted to sign the winger before he extended his contract with Athletic Club.
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Arsenal were repeatedly linked with a move for Athletic Club winger Nico Williams for years, up until the player signed an unprecedented 10-year deal in 2025, to stay with the club until 2035.
In their announcement, Athletic Club confirmed that Williams had also increased his release clause by more than 50%.
That clause had been the main reason the transfer was viable to begin with, with the player’s major salary demands making it an expensive deal to do anyway. But with the improved release clause, it became an impossible transfer for Arsenal.
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When a major transfer breaks down and a player signs a new contract, there are always questions about whether the ‘buying club’ was really as interested as the media made it seem. But Williams’ agent Felix Tainta says Arsenal were indeed in for the winger, along with a number of other clubs.
“We all know about Barca’s interest in the summer of 2024, after the Euros,” Tainta said (via GFFN). “Barca, Arsenal, Bayern, Liverpool, PSG… I could name them all. Everyone wanted Nico, and it’s not easy for a player to say no to all those clubs. Nico was thinking of leaving.”
But Tainta added that Williams ultimately decided to stay loyal to the club that gave him his breakthrough.
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Williams is one of a number of left-wing options Arsenal have tried to lure to north London in recent years, and the Gunners are still arguably on the hunt to this day.
Williams appears to be off the table now, but he’s made an underwhelming start to the season anyway. After one goal in his first six games, he picked up a thigh injury, forcing him to miss the last two.
The injury isn’t particularly serious, and the winger should be back in action shortly. But he has a way to go to recapture the form that had half of Europe after him.
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