Rodrygo, Nico Williams, Anthony Gordon: Analysing Arsenal’s wide attacker options

罗德里戈、尼科·威廉姆斯、安东尼·戈登：分析阿森纳的边锋选择

By Art de Roché, Thom Harris and more June 12, 2025 12:20 pm GMT+8

Arsenal’s attack needs refreshing. Much of the focus regarding their summer transfer window has understandably been on the centre-forward position, but there is also a clear need to improve manager Mikel Arteta’s options in wide areas if the club are to mount a serious challenge for silverware next season.

阿森纳的进攻需要更新换代。夏季转会窗的关注点自然集中在中锋位置上，但如果俱乐部希望下赛季能向冠军发起有力冲击，主教练米克尔·阿尔特塔显然也需要加强边路的选择。

Bukayo Saka is Arsenal’s star player out wide, but has been relied upon for years. This was highlighted by The Athletic as early as the 2020-21 season, when at 19, he was the club’s third-most-used outfield player behind Granit Xhaka and Hector Bellerin.

布卡约·萨卡是阿森纳的明星边锋，但多年来一直备受倚重。早在2020-21赛季，The Athletic就曾强调这一点。当时年仅19岁的他，是俱乐部出场次数第三多的外场球员，仅次于格拉尼特·扎卡和赫克托·贝莱林。

It was on his 250th Arsenal appearance in December that Saka suffered his first major setback, a three-month hamstring injury — a fate subsequently replicated by fellow forwards Kai Havertz and, to a lesser extent, Gabriel Martinelli.

在12月萨卡第250次代表阿森纳出场时，他遭遇了职业生涯首次重大挫折——腿筋受伤，休战三个月。随后，他的锋线队友凯·哈弗茨和（程度较轻的）加布里埃尔·马丁内利也遭遇了同样的命运。

At the start of last season, they would have been Arteta’s ideal starting trio up front. Looking ahead to when the games begin again in August, Saka’s place in the team may be the only one of the three to be considered safe as Arsenal look to significantly enhance their options.

上赛季初，他们本是阿尔特塔理想的锋线首发三人组。展望八月份比赛重启，随着阿森纳寻求大力增强阵容选择，三人中或许只有萨卡在队中的位置被认为是稳固的。

The Athletic has reported their interest in Rodrygo and Nico Williams, as well as Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon. Here, we assess what each of those players could offer Arteta’s side and how they compare to the attackers already at his disposal. Arsenal were also strong contenders for Leroy Sane, but on Wednesday, we reported the Germany forward is looking for a new challenge at Galatasaray in Turkey once his Bayern Munich contract expires at the end of this month.

据The Athletic报道，阿森纳对罗德里戈、尼科·威廉姆斯以及纽卡斯尔联队的安东尼·戈登都感兴趣。本文我们将评估这三位球员能为阿尔特塔的球队带来什么，并与现有攻击手进行比较。阿森纳也曾是勒鲁瓦·萨内的有力竞争者，但我们周三报道称，这位德国前锋在本月底拜仁慕尼黑合同到期后，将在土耳其的加拉塔萨雷寻求新挑战。

Rodrygo 罗德里戈

With over 250 Real Madrid appearances to his name, Rodrygo is the most high profile of these three prospective signings.

罗德里戈已代表皇马出场超过250次，是这三位潜在签约球员中名气最大的一位。

Arteta and his coaching staff are fans of the player, who has three years left on his existing contract. The Brazil international is still yet to speak to new Madrid manager Xabi Alonso about his situation, but, per sources who wish to remain anonymous to protect relationships, he wants to feel important wherever he plays.

阿尔特塔及其教练组是这名球员的粉丝，他的现有合同还剩三年。这位巴西国脚尚未与新任皇马主帅哈维·阿隆索讨论他的情况，但据不愿透露姓名的消息人士表示（为保护关系），他希望无论在哪里效力都能感受到重要性。

Just six months older than Martinelli, the 24-year-old has scored 13 and assisted nine goals in all competitions so far in Madrid’s season. In the Spanish league, he scored six and assisted five. He registered 10 La Liga goals in 2023-24, but his best league campaign for goal involvements was a year earlier, when he scored nine and assisted eight.

这位24岁的球员仅比马丁内利大六个月，在皇马本赛季至今的各项赛事中已攻入13球并助攻9次。在西甲联赛中，他打入6球并助攻5次。他在2023-24赛季的西甲联赛中打进10球，但他参与进球最多的赛季是在一年前，当时他打入9球并助攻8次。

Rodrygo has played across Madrid’s front line in their current campaign, but is most comfortable playing on the left or more centrally rather than on the right. That preference for the left side can be seen in that it’s where he tends to create the most, with the left half-space a particularly productive area.

罗德里戈在本赛季皇马锋线上踢过多个位置，但他最习惯的位置是左路或更靠近中路，而非右路。他对左路的偏爱体现在他往往能在这一侧创造最多的机会，而左肋部区域尤其高效。

Of the three players we are looking at in this article, Rodrygo ranks highest in chances created with 2.40 per 90 minutes, followed by Gordon on 1.99 and then Williams on 1.80. The high quality of his team-mates is an important factor in that, but the variation in the types of opportunities he produces for others will be viewed as a bonus.

在我们本文关注的三名球员中，罗德里戈每90分钟创造机会次数最高，为2.40次；其次是戈登，1.99次；威廉姆斯，1.80次。队友的高水平固然是重要因素，但他为他人创造机会的多样性将被视为额外优势。

Rodrygo has managed to combine with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior with shorter passes in congested areas, like the left half-space, which, based on much of the 2024-25 season, would benefit Arsenal hugely. As they often face mid or low blocks in the Premier League, a player with more invention in tight spaces would help unlock tricky defences with more ease, as seen here:

罗德里戈成功地在左肋部等密集区域，通过短传与基利安·姆巴佩和维尼修斯·儒尼奥尔配合。根据2024-25赛季大部分比赛情况来看，这对阿森纳将大有裨益。由于阿森纳在英超常面对中低位防守，一位在狭小空间内更具创造力的球员将有助于更轻松地破解棘手防线，如下所示：

The Brazilian is also able to provide crosses from wider areas and create chances for himself by running with the ball, albeit less often than both Williams and Gordon.

这位巴西球员也能在更开阔的区域送出传中，并通过带球跑动为自己创造机会，尽管其频率低于威廉姆斯和戈登。

Now into his mid-twenties, Rodrygo has hit an age range Arteta has liked when recruiting key signings in the past. Havertz and Declan Rice were also 24 when they signed for Arsenal in 2023, while Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko were both 25 when they moved to the Emirates the previous summer.

如今已年过二十五六的罗德里戈，正处于阿尔特塔过去招募关键球员时所青睐的年龄段。哈弗茨和德克兰·赖斯在2023年加盟阿森纳时也都是24岁，而加布里埃尔·热苏斯和奥列克桑德·津琴科在前一年夏天转会至酋长球场时则都是25岁。

As a two-time Champions League winner, Rodrygo would represent a similar ceiling-raising shift for Arsenal as Jesus and Zinchenko were when they joined from then Premier League champions Manchester City.

作为两届欧冠冠军得主，罗德里戈若能加盟，对阿森纳而言将是一次类似于热苏斯和津琴科从当时的英超冠军曼城加盟所带来的实力提升。

Nico Williams 尼科·威廉姆斯

Arsenal have a longstanding interest in Williams. His most recent contract extension at La Liga’s Athletic Club came in December 2023 and runs until June 2027. Barcelona failed in a pursuit of the Spain international winger last summer, while Aston Villa showed interest back in January 2023.

阿森纳长期以来一直对威廉姆斯感兴趣。他最近一次与西甲毕尔巴鄂竞技续约是在2023年12月，合同有效期至2027年6月。巴塞罗那去年夏天未能成功追逐这位西班牙国脚边锋，而阿斯顿维拉早在2023年1月就曾表现出兴趣。

Williams has since played a vital role in Spain’s European Championship triumph last July, scoring against England in the final, and helped his Bilbao-based boyhood club reach this year’s Europa League semi-finals. He scored 11 goals and assisted seven in all competitions in 2024-25, with five of each coming in La Liga. His most fruitful top-flight season was a year earlier, when he scored five and assisted 11.

自去年7月以来，威廉姆斯在西班牙夺得欧洲杯冠军的过程中发挥了关键作用，并在决赛中对阵英格兰时进球；他还帮助其儿时效力的毕尔巴鄂俱乐部打入了今年的欧联杯半决赛。在2024-25赛季，他在各项赛事中打入11球并助攻7次，其中在西甲联赛中各贡献5次。他最辉煌的顶级联赛赛季是在一年前，当时他打入5球并助攻11次。

Where a player who turns 23 on July 12 stands out compared to other wingers is in his willingness to dribble. While Rodrygo attempts a similar amount of take-ons to Saka per 90, only Jamie Gittens of Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Jeremy Doku of Manchester City had more than Williams in their domestic leagues last season.

这位将于7月12日年满23岁的球员相比其他边锋，最突出的特点是他盘带的意愿。虽然罗德里戈每90分钟的尝试过人次与萨卡相近，但上赛季在各自国内联赛中，只有多特蒙德的杰米·吉滕斯、巴塞罗那的拉明·亚马尔和曼城的杰里米·多库的尝试过人次数超过了威廉姆斯。

Despite having a lower success rate than those players, his style would bring a different dynamic to the way Arsenal attack on the wings. Primarily playing off the left, he would provide an interesting contrast to both Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, who each attempt at least half as many take-ons as he does.

尽管成功率低于这些球员，但他的风格将为阿森纳的边路进攻带来不同的活力。主要司职左路的他，将与马丁内利和莱昂德罗·特罗萨德形成有趣的对比，后两者的尝试过人次数至少比他少一半。

The sheer volume of dribbles in comparison to Rodrygo can be seen in how often Williams carries the ball five metres or more before either creating a chance or shooting, as evidenced by his 2023-24 numbers:

与罗德里戈相比，威廉姆斯盘带次数之多体现在他经常在创造机会或射门前带球推进五米或以上，这从他2023-24赛季的数据可以看出：

As is the case with his dribble success rate, there is clear room for improvement in converting those chances and shots into goals. Nonetheless, Williams causes major issues for opposition defences, and here are two examples of how he does that when running with the ball.

正如他的盘带成功率一样，他在将这些机会和射门转化为进球方面显然还有提升空间。尽管如此，威廉姆斯仍然给对手的防线带来巨大麻烦，以下是他带球跑动时的两个例证。

The first is from a second leg win over Roma in the Europa League round of 16 in March, when Athletic came back from a 2-1 first leg defeat in Italy to advance.

第一个例子来自今年3月欧联杯16强战次回合战胜罗马的比赛，当时毕尔巴鄂竞技在首回合意大利客场1-2落败后逆转晋级。

Initially, Williams pops a smart pass into midfield to keep play moving before receiving the ball again inside the box. The defender is expecting him to go around the outside, but he shifts the ball inside with his left foot, touches it past another opponent and dinks a finish over the goalkeeper.

起初，威廉姆斯巧妙地将球传向中场以保持进攻流畅，随后在禁区内再次得球。对方后卫预判他会走外线，但他却用左脚将球带入内线，趟过另一名对手，最后轻巧挑射越过门将，破门得分。

That was his second goal of the game. For the first, he arrived at the back post to apply a finishing touch, which is a theme of his wing play and which has helped him score important goals for both club and country — the Euro 2024 final included.

这是他本场比赛的第二粒进球。他的第一粒进球则是通过包抄后点完成终结，这是他边路进攻的一大特色，并帮助他在俱乐部和国家队都打入了关键进球——包括2024年欧洲杯决赛。

For a more blatant example of Williams’ dribbling prowess, however, below is one of his goals in a 7-1 win over Real Valladolid in February.

然而，要更直观地展示威廉姆斯的盘带能力，请看下面他在二月份7-1大胜巴拉多利德的比赛中的一粒进球。

Here, he receives the ball on the touchline and immediately drives at his full-back. He takes a touch inside and bursts in between four defenders (two at a time), leaving one on the floor. Instead of swiping at the ball as soon as he is past them, he takes another touch around the final defender before reversing his finish past Arsenal loanee Karl Hein.

这次，他在边线接球后立即带球冲向对方边后卫。他触球内切，从四名防守队员（每次两人）中间强行穿过，导致其中一人倒地。在突破后，他并没有立刻仓促起脚，而是带球绕过最后一名防守队员，然后将球反向打入阿森纳租借门将卡尔·海因把守的球门。

While these examples show him cutting inside, many of the chances Williams created last season came from cutbacks after driving to the byline. One reason why the Roma defender mentioned earlier may have expected him to take the ball on the outside is because that is how most of his dribbles in 2024-25 panned out.

虽然这些例子展示了他的内切，但威廉姆斯上赛季创造的许多机会都源于他下底后的回传。之前提到的那位罗马后卫之所以预判他会走外线，原因之一可能是他在2024-25赛季的大部分盘带都是这样发展的。

Even so, the ability to go both ways at pace is something Arsenal could use. Trossard has a nice change of direction in close quarters but lacks pace, whereas Martinelli is quick but can sometimes be caught before finding a pass.

即便如此，这种高速下左右脚都能内切外突的能力正是阿森纳所需要的。特罗萨德在小范围内变向出色，但速度不足；马丁内利速度很快，但有时在找到传球线路前就被对方缠住。

Williams has been reluctant to entertain the notion of leaving Athletic over the years, but The Athletic reported last summer that his release clause is in the region of €55million ($59m; £47m).

多年来，威廉姆斯一直不愿考虑离开毕尔巴鄂竞技，但据The Athletic去年夏天报道，他的解约金约为5500万欧元（5900万美元；4700万英镑）。

Compared to Rodrygo, he would represent a different type of signing. He is also slightly younger than the Brazilian and previous Arsenal summer transfers. That would suggest an element of adaptation, but he would also represent a clear gear shift in their wide attacking style.

与罗德里戈相比，他的签约类型将截然不同。他也比这位巴西球员以及阿森纳过去的夏季引援稍显年轻。这或许意味着需要一定的适应期，但他的加盟也将明显改变阿森纳的边路进攻风格。

Anthony Gordon 安东尼·戈登

Gordon has repeatedly punished Arsenal since signing for Newcastle United two and a half years ago. The winger scored a controversial winner in a 1-0 victory at St James’ Park in November 2023, assisted an Alexander Isak winner in a match that ended with the same scoreline in October last year and scored in both legs of their Carabao Cup semi-finals meeting in January.

自从两年半前加盟纽卡斯尔联队以来，戈登就屡屡给阿森纳制造麻烦。这位边锋在2023年11月圣詹姆斯公园球场1-0获胜的比赛中打入一记颇具争议的制胜球；去年10月在一场同样以1-0结束的比赛中助攻亚历山大·伊萨克打入制胜球；今年1月，在卡拉宝杯半决赛的两回合比赛中均有进球。

Overall, the 2024-25 season was not his strongest. Gordon contributed nine goals and six assists in all competitions, with six goals and five assists in the league. Compare that to his 2023-24 campaign, where he scored 11 and assisted 10 in the Premier League alone — and that in a side who struggled to cope with the demands of balancing Premier League and Champions League football.

总的来说，2024-25赛季并非戈登最强的赛季。他在各项赛事中贡献了9个进球和6次助攻，其中联赛进球6个，助攻5次。相比之下，他在2023-24赛季仅在英超联赛中就贡献了11个进球和10次助攻——而且是在一支努力平衡英超和欧冠比赛需求的球队中完成的。

Hailing from Merseyside, the former Everton man was unsettled when a potential move to Liverpool collapsed last summer, but in October signed a new contract until 2029. Even so, his and Harvey Barnes’ futures at Newcastle are uncertain, and even with Champions League qualification for next season, potential sales could help Newcastle from the perspective of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

这位来自默西塞德郡的前埃弗顿球员，在去年夏天转会利物浦的计划告吹后感到不安，但在10月份与纽卡斯尔续约至2029年。即便如此，他和哈维·巴恩斯在纽卡斯尔的未来仍不明朗，即使下赛季获得了欧冠资格，从英超利润和可持续发展规则（PSR）的角度来看，潜在的出售也可能对纽卡斯尔有益。

Like Rodrygo and Williams, Gordon brings his own set of skills to the table that set him apart as a left-winger. He likes to create from the left half-space and inside the box, but his threat comes more from runs in behind.

和罗德里戈、威廉姆斯一样，戈登也拥有自己的一套技能，使其作为一名左边锋与众不同。他喜欢在左肋部和禁区内创造机会，但他的威胁更多来自于从后插上的跑动。

Like Williams, Gordon represents a stylistic shift to the type of off-ball runs that Arsenal currently deploy.

与威廉姆斯一样，戈登也代表着一种向阿森纳当前较少使用的无球跑动类型的风格转变。

While they already have players who make a fair amount of overlapping runs and runs to receive crosses, in 2024-25, Arteta’s side did not have as many running in behind or ahead of the ball.

虽然阿森纳阵中已有不少球员能进行相当数量的套边跑动和接应传中跑位，但在2024-25赛季，阿尔特塔的球队并没有那么多从后插上或跑在球前面的跑动。

While Rodrygo’s short passing and quick feet could disrupt mid or low blocks, runs in behind from Gordon could see Arsenal break before teams settle into a defensive shape. That would make Arsenal more direct than they have been in recent years, but having more than one way of playing would surely be beneficial in a title race.

罗德里戈的短传和快速脚步可以扰乱中低位防守，而戈登的后插上跑动则可能让阿森纳在对手落好防守阵型前就发起冲击。这将使阿森纳比近年来更直接，但在争冠过程中，拥有多种比赛方式无疑是有利的。

Rodrygo, Williams and Gordon all have distinctive qualities that could be of use to Arsenal, but landing on which style suits them best may not be an obvious choice.

罗德里戈、威廉姆斯和戈登都具备能为阿森纳所用的独特品质，但确定哪种风格最适合他们可能并非易事。

Could the decision they take regarding a new striker impact the type of winger needed to best complement that player? Possibly.

他们在选择新前锋时做出的决定，会否影响所需边锋的类型以最好地与之配合？有可能。

Either way, high-quality wide options do seem to be emerging as the summer transfer market gathers pace.

无论如何，随着夏季转会市场加速运转，高质量的边路选择似乎正在涌现。