Arsenal can land £43m dream transfer and wound rivals Spurs and Chelsea this summer

The gaps are threatening to become chasms. For years on end now, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham have been jockeying for the crown of London's best team; some have enjoyed more success than others in that regard. But as the season lurches into its final stretch, an undeniable stratification has taken hold in the capital.

At the time of writing, Arsenal - having come so close last term - sit atop the Premier League table, and are very much in the hunt for a first title in two decades. Beneath them, Spurs gave their Champions League qualification hopes an almighty boost on Sunday with a convincing demolition of Aston Villa. And far off in the distance, bumbling through the doldrums, Chelsea flicker between competence and absurdity on a near-weekly basis.

In other words, it is a good time to be a Gunner, and it could become a whole lot better if they can beat their London rivals to the signature of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams this summer. According to the Mirror, Mikel Arteta's men are battling Tottenham and Chelsea in their efforts to prise the 21-year-old away from the Basque Country, with a fee of around £43 million expected to be enough to trigger the release clause in his current contract.

It is easy to see why Williams represents such a beguiling proposition to Arsenal. Yet another glittering product of Bilbao's fabled academy system, the wide man - capable of playing on either flank - already has 11 senior caps for Spain to his name, and has registered six goals and a further dozen assists in 28 outings across all competitions so far this season.

He is, in short, a precocious talent, and one who is only likely to get better over time. For the Gunners, who have made a habit of signing players with similarly promising trajectories in recent seasons, he feels like a natural target, and not least because he would also solve a simmering issue in Arteta's squad.

While Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka are unquestionably Arsenal's first choice wingers, and for good reason, beyond the youthful duo, the Gunners lack meaningful strength in depth in wide areas. Leandro Trossard is a willing and impressive deputy, but aside from the Belgian, and the rarely-trusted Reiss Nelson, Arteta has no obvious cover out on the flanks.

Williams would provide that, and more. To witness him in full flight is to recognise that he is a player worthy of a regular starting berth for a Premier League title contender, and with the extra expectation of Champions League football to consider as well, his arrival at the Emirates - plus his innate versatility - would allow Arteta to rotate his frontline on a more regular basis while not having to compromise on the quality of his attacking unit.

Of course, there is also the added pettiness of scuppering the plans of two of the Gunners most fierce rivals too, but even leaving that to one side for the moment, Williams feels like exactly the kind of player that Arsenal should be looking to sign if they are serious about cementing their spot among the absolute elite of English, and indeed continental, football in the coming months.