Should Arsenal sign Ollie Watkins?


Watkins

Should Arsenal sign Ollie Watkins?

By Tom Masters

Arsenal’s recent resurgence under Mikel Arteta has seen the Gunners rise up the Premier League table from being bottom of the league after three matches to fourth in the new year. 

That can largely be attributed to their young attackers, with Emile Smith Rowe, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli all having superb starts to the season, while the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney have been vital at the back. 

 

One glaring issue with the Gunners though has been that central attacker, with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang seemingly getting it wrong one too many times for Arteta’s liking, stripping him of captaincy and seemingly on his way out of the club in January. 

 

That leaves Alexandre Lacazette, who despite the increase in game time has struggled to make an impact, scoring just three goals in his 15 Premier League appearances. 

 

It has been a problem for Arsenal as it has left them sometimes struggling to put teams away, with Arteta’s men scoring just 33 goals in the opening 20 matches of the Premier League. 

 

This means that Arsenal look set to go into the transfer market this January in search of that next centre forward, and one man who has emerged as an option is Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins. 

 

Why Watkins? 

 

The English forward has impressed since making the move over to Villa from Brentford, scoring 19 goals in 53 Premier League appearances, including a hat-trick against Liverpool in that famous 7-2 win last season. 

 

In his first Premier League season, he managed 14 goals, which saw him earn a first England call-up, where he scored on debut in a 5-0 win over San Marino before earning another four caps. 

 

Would he suit the team? 

 

Watkins appears to be the real deal and it is easy to see why Arsenal have got their eyes on a player like him. 

 

His goalscoring record, while not exceptional, is good for a player who is still fairly new to the league and although Villa have been improving under Steven Gerrard, at times they have been a struggling side. 

 

But it is probably his work rate, pace and adaptability that have really caught the eye of Arteta, as Watkins is able to play as an out and out centre forward as well as on the left or right, making him an attractive option. 


Watkins

Is it likely to happen? 

 

Watkins was left out of the Villa side that lost 2-1 to Brentford on Sunday, and Steven Gerrard gave a rather vague response as to why Watkins was not in the matchday squad.  

 

He said: "I'm not sure I'm in a position to give you the details on it, but we have got a mixture of covid and injury problems at the moment." 

 

Meanwhile ESPN stated Arteta’s opinions on the matter: "Sources said Arteta is a fan of Watkins' playing style and his ability to play in a number of different roles in attack.” 

 

January deals of this kind are fairly rare, but if Arsenal are desperate to get Aubameyang off their books, it is definitely possible they will be proactive in their pursuit of Watkins. 

 

Verdict: 

 

This appears to be a deal that depends almost entirely on whether the Gunners can shift Aubameyang or not this January. 

 

If there are no suitors or Arteta does a U-turn and decides to revert back to his Gabonese forward, it seems fairly unlikely this will be a deal concluded soon. 

 

However, the interest is clearly there for Watkins and with Lacazette seemingly leaving in the summer at the end of his contract and Aubameyang almost certainly set to join him, Arsenal will need at least one forward option. 

 

Villa have Danny Ings in that role, so it feels as though if the right price came in for Watkins, they would part ways with the English forward. 

 

Keep an eye on this one, as it appears to have some substance behind it. 

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