'He never said no': £51m player kept asking for more money from Arsenal as transfer window went on - insider

Arsenal are now up and running in the 2024/25 season with the transfer window now a thing of the past.

But, it has to be said, this summer did not provide Arsenal fans with everything they wanted when it comes to player arrivals.

The Gunners were able to see four players arrive in north London with four of the main positional areas addressed.

However, there may well be a feeling from Mikel Arteta that more could have been done to address Arsenal’s attack.

Raheem Sterling was brought in as a last minute loan signing but he was not exactly what the Gunners will have had planned going into the window.

And with Gabriel Jesus already suffering through injury, the options up top for Arsenal may already be looking a little bit thin with the cup competitions about to begin.

Nico Williams of Athletic Club looks on during the La Liga EA Sports match between Athletic Club and Club Atletico de Madrid at Estadio de San Mame...

However, the Spain international did not leave his boyhood club despite the interest coming from Arsenal and Barcelona.

But the north Londoners may well be able to take some confidence from the response – or lack of – they got from the 22-year-old with one week remaining in the window.

According to the insider Team News and Tickets, Williams did not provide Arsenal with an outright rejection with a week remaining in the window.

“A week before the window ended, as far as I had heard, Arsenal hadn’t had a no from Nico Williams,” he said on his Patreon account.

“He never said no, but his total package demands – wages, bonuses – were going up as the window ended — maybe that was a way of saying no without saying no.”

Arsenal need to sign a big name forward next summer

Having finished so close to Manchester City over the last two seasons, this felt like the summer where Arsenal could have gone all out and made a real statement in the market.

Instead, they left it until after the actual deadline on Friday night to bring in Sterling on loan for the season.

With the Chelsea forward only around for the 2024/25 campaign, there may well be a suggestion in that Arsenal will go again next summer in the market.

Regardless of whether they win the league or not, it does still feel like this Arsenal side are missing a striker – or even a clinical winger – who could provide a consistent return of 15 goals alongside Bukayo Saka.