Inaki Williams made his first-team and La Liga debut on 6th December 2014. It is 11 years and nine months, but the Ghanaian forward is yet to play a s
Inaki Williams made his first-team and La Liga debut on 6th December 2014. It is 11 years and nine months, but the Ghanaian forward is yet to play a single game in the UEFA Champions League.
Athletic Bilbao finished 4th in the 2024-25 La Liga season, hence winning one of the slots for the 2025-26 UCL.
The club will welcome Arsenal to the Estadio de San Mames in Bilbao. Inaki Wiliams is optimistic that he will mark his debut in the competition with a win.
“I hope I can make my debut with a win, the shame is not being able to do it with Nico [Williams]. We’re all excited beforehand. For most of the team, it’s the first Champions League game. We’ve been fighting for years to be like this tomorrow.”
Athletic Bilbao will face Arsenal, having lost narrowly at home to Alaves in round 4 of the Spanish La Liga.
Arsenal’s Spanish duo of Zubimendi and Merino joined the London-based club from Bilbao’s arch-rivals, Real Sociedad. Inaki Williams knows the two and hopes they will be motivated because they are returning home.
“They’re returning home, they’ll have their family and friends nearby, and they’ll be able to see them; it’s an added incentive to play against Athletic Club. We’re not afraid of anyone, we’re not scared, so it’s going to be a very beautiful match”, Williams concluded.
Head coach Ernesto Valverde expressed his excitement to see the club in the competition.
“We’re really excited to play in this competition, and we want to compete. We know the difficulty is increasing, that the clubs aren’t holding anything back, and that it’s also a way for us to test ourselves”, Valverde said.
Bilbao’s manager is not new to the competition because he had a good taste of it when he managed Barcelona between 2017 and 2022, where he took the club to the semi-finals of the competition in 2019.
“When you’re playing against one of the favourites to win the competition and the Premier League, you have to be very careful, take advantage of your opportunities and not concede too many. They have a very high pace, which pushes you towards your goal. It’s like when Real Madrid or Barcelona come to us, with this type of team, you’ll have to try to put on a perfect performance”.
Valverde likened Arsenal’s visit to Real Madrid and Barcelona’s and counted Arteta’s side as one of the favourites to lift the competition.
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