Arsenal & Liverpool to tussle for inspirational defender

The Daily Mail has reported that Arsenal upping their interest in Ashley Williams of Swansea City. Arsene Wenger is looking to strengthen his defence with the inspirational Welshman but will face stiff competition from Brendan Rodgers who was a huge fan of the 28 year old when he was in charge of the Swans last season.

Is Williams too old for a big money move? Check out his stats and graphs here

Leader

Williams is officially vice-captain of Swansea but effectively captain as Garry Monk has been all but dropped from the first team. He is a true leader in defence, very vocal and decisive, which led to his promotion to Welsh captain over the popular Aaron Ramsey. The Wolves-born centre-back has played almost every minute of every Premier League game this season for Swansea; only missing the 5-0 mauling by Liverpool.

Williams’ appearance breakdown this season. Quite complete

Part of this natural leadership comes from Williams‘ thundering sliding tackles. Swansea’s natural defensive style is to back off and contain while the midfield trio return to steal the ball back but Ashley is successful with 63% of his tackle attempts which include some highlight-reel challenges and some wince-inducing fouls to boot.

All action

To add to this, Williams on average makes 11 clearances, 2.7 interceptions and 1.5 blocks per game; pointing towards a defender who doesn’t hesitate in key moments.
While all this is impressive and Williams has been a huge part of Swansea’s success this season, there’s no escaping the fact the Welsh captain (and his quite frankly ridiculous six-pack) will be 29 in August and is probably at or very close to his peak as a footballer so would represent a short term for any team interested. Whether it’s a punt worth taking is up to Mr Wenger and Mr Rodgers.