Arsenal Set To Bid For Want-Away Defender

As we approach the opening of the summer window clubs will be intensifying their efforts in the transfer market so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Gooner Mac brings us news of Arsenal’s interest in Ashley Williams.

Arsenal are set to renew their interest in Swansea City skipper Ashley Williams with a £3m bid after the defender asked to leave the club this summer, according to reports today.

Williams was strongly linked with a move to the Emirates last summer but a move failed to materialise after the two clubs failed to agree a fee and the centre-back ended up staying in Wales.

However, widespread reports claim the 29-year-old looks set to leave this summer after talks over a contract extension broke down, and with Williams having just 12 months left to run on his current deal, Arsenal are eyeing a bargain.

The Metro suggests that Williams has asked to be sold this summer and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is going to test the Swans resolve with a £3million bid over the coming weeks.

It remains to be seen whether such a bid will be enough to persuade Garry Monk to cash-in, but with Williams keen to leave and contract talks stalling, the former Capital One Cup winners are in a tricky situation.

They must decide whether to sell the unsettled defender now and accept Arsenal’s proposed £3m offer, if it does in fact come in, or force Williams to stay and see out the remaining year of his contract.

It’s never wise to keep hold of a disgruntled player, so unless Williams has a change of heart and a compromise can be found over an extension, it’s likely the centre-back will be on the move this summer.

Arsenal could be in the market for an experienced defender if Thomas Vermaelen leaves in search of regular first team football this summer, so Arsene Wenger is likely viewing Williams as a direct replacement for the Belgian international. Even if Vermaelen stays, we are going to be thin of cover in the middle of defence with fourth-choice centre-back Bacary Sagna expected to leave – although it’s doubtful Williams would come knowing he’d be so far down the pecking order.

I still hope Vermaelen stays and continues to be our third choice behind Mertesacker and Koscielny and if he does, I’d rather the £3m was put toward’s a younger defender who could learn from his more experienced team-mates before eventually taking over in a couple of years. Someone like Nottingham Forests Jamaal Lascelles would be ideal.

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However, if Vermaelen does leave then it would be a good idea to bring in an experienced and reliable head like Williams to act as cover, and possibly promote a fourth-choice centre-back from within.