Arsenal could look to sign a player from Aston Villaplaceholder image
Arsenal could look to sign a player from Aston Villa | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal are discussing the possibility of making a move for an Aston Villa star
Arsenal’s shortcomings were well documented last season. With Manchester City falling away in November, many predicted that Mikel Arteta’s Gunners would be the ones to take advantage and break their 21-year Premier League title drought.
But Arsenal came up short. Injuries, a lack of forward options, a lack of ideas even - whatever the multitude of reasons, the pressure is on Arteta to ensure it does not happen again.
Top of the Spaniard’s wish list this summer is a top-class striker, something the North London outfit have been crying out for over the last two seasons. Contributions from across the pitch papered over the cracks in previous times, but last season the Gunners’ lack of a recognised centre-forward was made glaringly obvious when Kai Havertz got injured and they were forced to deploy midfielder Mikel Merino up front, with no player at the club reaching double figures in league goals.
Watkins an option for Arsenal
The Gunners went in for boyhood fan Watkins in the January transfer window with an audacious £60m offer, which was not accepted considering both how late it was in the window, and the fact that Villa had sold Jhon Durán just days prior.
But the situation could be different this summer. Villa need to sell players to ease growing PSR concerns around the club and an offer of £60m for the 29-year-old could be enough to seal a deal for the England international, with Manchester United also supposedly interested. While he may still be a secondary target amongst younger options, Arsenal will know how much Watkins could bring to the side.
What Watkins could bring to Arsenal
First and foremost, Watkins offers something which Arsenal’s other striker targets do not - experience scoring goals in the Premier League. He has scored 75 goals in 184 league appearances for the Villains, including 16 last season in what was considered a less prolific year than the previous campaign.
That Watkins guarantees goals at this level is not in question. Not only that, his intelligent channel running, link-up play and ability to assist in addition to score goals would fit perfectly into Arteta’s system and allow other players the opportunity to shine.
Furthermore, Watkins has been known to break Arsenal hearts with key goals on multiple occasions. He has scored six goals in 10 Premier League encounters with the Gunners, including, most famously, a break-away sealing goal in a 2-0 win at the Emirates in April 2024, in a result which severely dented Arsenal’s title hopes. Last season, he scored the equaliser as Villa came from 2-0 down to draw in North London and deal the Gunners a blow once again. All in all, Watkins has the joint-second-best goalscoring record against Arsenal across his career, only scoring more against Brighton & Hove Albion.
If Arteta can persuade Watkins to make the move to the Emirates, Gunners fans will be hoping that he can recreate some of that ruthless finishing playing in red, to break hearts for Arsenal rather than against them.
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