Arsenal have not been the most active club on transfer Deadline Day but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been working to make improvements. Edu Gaspar & co. always prefer to work behind the scenes and keep things under wraps.
The only noteworthy piece of transfer business that the Gunners have done so far today in terms of arrival is wrapping up a deal for Neto from Bournemouth after being unable to reach an agreement with Joan Garcia.
However, behind the scenes, the Gunners were apparently working on a transfer deal for the Williams brothers from Athletic Bilbao. Nico Williams, at this point, is obviously well known but do not count out Inaki either.
Arsenal have been interested in bringing either brother to the Emirates at different points of time and it all culminated in a deadline day push. However, both players have turned down the opportunity to join the Gunners this summer.
Why have Arsenal not been able to convince the Williams?
For starters, both brothers have an affinity towards the Basque club that cannot be put into words. Athletic Bilbao was the club that shaped both their footballing career and made them who they are today and Inaki and Nico have always been grateful.
Inaki is on course to become a Bilbao legend. He has already broken all sorts of records with the Spanish club and continues to be one of the best players of Ernesto Valverde’s team. He might not want to miss out on that opportunity by shifting clubs.
Nico on the other hand wants to wait for Barcelona. The 22-year-old was quite heavily linked with a transfer to the Catalan club this summer that only fell through due to their precarious financial position. However, it could be on the cards next summer.
The Spanish winger does not want to shut down the possibility of moving to Barcelona by moving to Arsenal this season and that is understandable. Nico after all has quite a few friends playing Hansi Flick’s team.
Then, there is the case of the promise Nico made to his older brother Inaki about playing together in Europe with Bilbao for a season. They find themselves in the Europa league and this gives him the best chance to honour his word to his brother.
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Whilst either player would have been an exceptional addition to the Arsenal squad, both of them had their own reasons not to make the transfers happen and that is understandable. Let’s see if the Gunners turn their attentions elsewhere in what is remaining of this transfer window.
