ARSENAL EYEING UP OLLIE WATKINS IN THE TRANSFER WINDOW
As the Premier League season 2024-25 draws towards its conclusive stages, the teams have already started planning for their summer enforcements. Ollie Watkins has emerged as a potential target for Arsenal in the striker department. The Aston Villa striker, who is a self-proclaimed childhood Arsenal fan, may as well be playing at the Emirates next season. This news does not come as a shock from the blue for the Arsenal fans at all. Arsenal had already expressed their desire to sign Ollie Watkins in the January transfer window but Aston Villa had rejected their bid of around £40million for their premier striker. With Villa’s second choice striker Jhon Durán leaving, it would have been a very risky proposition for them indeed.
Ollie Watkins, 29, is right now in his prime years in a footballing sense. Arsenal have lacked that goal poacher in the box for the entirety of the season. It can be partly attributed to Gabriel Jesus’s injury and their lack of cover in the striking position. The Gunners view Watkins as their final piece in the jigsaw puzzle to bring back the much-coveted Premier League title back to the Emirates after more than 20 years.
OLLIE WATKINS SITUATION AT ASTON VILLA
Watkin’s development under Unai Emery has been very rapid. He has become a reliable presence in the starting team line-up over recent years. He has consistently provided double-digit output in both goals and assists departments. His technical ability and link-up play as a striker is also on par with some of the best in the league. However, after the action-packed January transfer window which saw Villa bring the likes of Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen as goal threats, Watkins has found himself out of favour on several occasions.
Arsenal have been monitoring this development very closely. The London giants are hopeful that this situation may end up benefiting them. It would enable the Gunners to bolster their attacking options with a Premier League-proven striker in their squad. Arsenal have succumbed to 13 Premier League draws this season. It is the second-highest draw count after Everton’s 15 draws , who are reeling in the bottom end of the Premier League table. With Arsenal’s defence being the best in the land, it’s clear that their inability to breakdown opposition teams in the absence of a recognised centre-forward has again left them with a feeling of frustration and being “so near, yet so far “.
AUTHORS OPINION
Arsenal have been linked with a variety of quality strikers across Europe. Some of the names at the top of this shortlist are Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyökeres and Ollie Watkins. There is a general acceptance around the club that Isak might be the best choice amongst these names. For the majority of Gooners, he seems destined to inherit the iconic number 14 jersey and honour its legacy forward. However, with Newcastle looking set to make the Champions League, there seems no need on their part to even entertain a bid for their striker. With Viktor Gyökeres, there still remains that shadow of a doubt about him being unproven in the league. Doubters are worried about the difficulties he may face in being able to hit the ground running from the outset.
🚨👀 Andrea #Berta is pushing to sign Viktor #Gyökeres for Arsenal. Several talks have already taken place. Alexander Isak remains high on the Gunners’ list, as previously revealed — but he’s very expensive.
Manchester United, Chelsea, and Real Madrid are all in the race. No… pic.twitter.com/T48H6BZAUc
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) May 2, 2025
This makes Ollie Watkins the most realistic choice out of all the above-mentioned names. Arsenal have appointed a new sporting director, Andrea Berta. This comes in light of Edu resigning from the post earlier this season. Andrea Berta, previously at Atlético Madrid, has shown his eye for talent recognition in the forward department. His resume boasts of some top-class names like Griezmann, Julian Alvarez and Suarez amongst others. In charge of his first summer transfer window at Arsenal, he would certainly like to make a mark for himself. Ollie Watkins would definitely be a statement signing for the Gunners’ potential title charge in the upcoming season.
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