Could Watkins be the answer to Arsenal’s striker problem?
Now, I know what a lot of you are thinking, this article is coming straight off the hype of the England game and Aston Villa and English international’s Ollie Watkins goal in the Euro’s semi-final against The Netherlands, and you’d be right. Before yesterday I’d hardly even considered the 28-year-old striker as an option for Arsenal as there’s been so many names thrown about that it’s been hard to keep up, but after last night, something moved me and I started to think, what if he would be the perfect fit at the club.
I’m a big fan of Watkins, I’ve watched a lot of him last season at Aston Villa and he really is a great player, hence why he got the England call up for the finals. Scoring 24 goals and 13 assists in all competitions last season and was one of Unai Emery’s stand out players throughout the season, managing to help Villa finish 4th and qualify for Europe again and even scoring the winner against us at The Emirates that ultimately saw us miss out of the title
He may be 28 years old, but he seems to be getting better with age and for a team like Arsenal who are looking for a strong number 9, he could be the perfect fit. He’s very good on the ball and reads play well, getting himself into great positions and using his strength against defenders to get the ball past them. He knows exactly where the back of the net is but he’s also not selfish in the way he plays, setting up his teammates and looks like he’s a real team player too.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a big fan of bringing in player who already have Premier League experience, Manchester City have been doing this for years and have managed to build strong squads because of it. We saw the same with Declan Rice and Kai Havertz last season, it didn’t take long for them to get settled and get going and weren’t surprised or taken back by the League because they had already been playing in it. This makes the process of hitting the ground running a lot easier, and I think Watkins would excel under a manager like Mikel Arteta.
This obviously wouldn’t be an easy deal, Emery loves Watkins and they both seem to have a great relationship. He has a contract at Aston Villa until 2028, but, it’s well known that Watkins has always been a big fan of Arsenal and his family have admitted in the past that it would be a dream move for him, so you never know, he could be tempted. Villa aren’t anything to joke about these days though and they seem to be building a good project like we are so I don’t think it would be easy in any aspect.
Maybe I’m just buying into the hype too much but from where I’m sitting, if we could get him for a decent price, he seems like he would be the perfect fit at a club like Arsenal.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
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The money it would take would be around £100m at 28yrs old he’s still got a good 5/6 yrs in him as his fitness is excellent but I doubt Villa would even entertain his sale.
Especially as they’re about to sell his back up to West Ham but yeah he’s perfect.
I really liked the way Watkins played with his back to goal and he is one of few homegrown CFs who can hold Saliba off with his strength, but he will be 29 years old this year
I believe Arteta is looking for a CF who can press like a mad man as Odegaard/ Jesus did and Watkins’ work rate will only lower as he ages
If a highly-clinical or lethal CF was more important to Arteta as compared to the high-pressing one, he would’ve likely tried to sign the old Kane or Ronaldo
Signing Toney would make more sense, since his contract is expiring at Brentford
Daisy. You are right to identify Ollie but I doubt that you could afford what we would want for him … I am told that when Utd came knocking we told them £130m and this was before he became the talk of the Euros! I should focus on Toney if I were you!
Yeah wrongly his value sky rocketed now
He’s not worth the amount being said
Yes over hype. The only time he has achieved 20 goals in a league season was the Championship. Move on.
@Reggie
Real Talk 👍🏾
19 PL goals last season in 37 games, plus 13 assists is pretty good going. Hardly over hyped.
Not a 20 goal a season striker, that we need. One season a swallow doesn’t make a summer. Realistically he has had one good season in the prem and people think he is worth120 mil. No, not for me.
Even if we paid the fee, would he be content sitting on the bench being a backup?
There is no way Arteta is dropping Havertz to the bench. Any striker coming in will be a backup, not a challenger to Havertz.
Havertz?Really? Having a laugh,doesnt score goals,second rate as a striker.
Agreed that he would not want to be sitting especially at his age; however, not to be a wise guy, but see Ramsdale situation at beginning of prior season.
120 million he is yours,not a penny less.
Are you in charge of the transfers at Villa ?
Ollie Watkins is not coming to Arsenal.
He would undoubtedly be an upgrade to our current options, but his price may be too high considering his age. Toney could be a more cost effective choice with similar qualities.
Premier League career stats:
Nketiah 19 non-pen goals 211 minutes per non-pen goal
Watkins 56 non-pen goals 225 minutes per non-pen goal
Toney 25 non-pen goals 292 minutes per non-pen goal
Mr non penalty strike again. Converting those penalties is a skill too.
I concur with you about penalties. Even our record goalscorer has missed from the spot.
sure, but not a problem Arsenal needs to solve, as we have excellent one in Saka
the striker debate is about converting more big chances in open play, and none of these guys are consistently deadly in front of goal
got a problem that? or do you just find facts inconveniently get in the way of ill-informed opinion
How does Ollie Watkins’ scoring ability compare to Arsenal’s current strikers?
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If fans just want 20 goals a season striker, should they be sticking to Havertz? If he played CF all season, he would’ve got 20 goals easily.
If I want a new striker, he would rather be 30-40 goals a season striker, or a valuable back up striker to Havertz. I don’t understand the 20 goals fascination. Is it a magic number?