Arsenal reportedly had the chance to sign Ollie Watkins last season, with the Gunners offering £60m for the Aston Villa star before ending their pursuit. And with Villa manager Unai Emery revealing that the player has been suffering from a knee problem since the start of last season, the decision not to press too hard to complete the move now appears to make sense.
Watkins has been one of the Premier League’s most lethal finishers in recent years, scoring 16 goals and providing eight assists in the top flight last season. However, his form has plummeted this season and he has found the net just three times in all competitions, two of which came on Wednesday night while Villa were away to Brighton.
Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher spoke about Watkins during an appearance on Overlap in the spring. And the former defender explained: “When we talked about Arsenal going for him, someone said to me, ‘I think Villa also offered him to Arsenal. Actually, I know that.’
During the first half of last season, Watkins was forced to share game time with John Duran and the Colombian international impressed every time he took to the pitch.
Duran was sold to Al Nasr of the Saudi Professional League at the end of January, but was subsequently loaned to Fenerbahce.
Carragher added: “Before Duran left, they (Villa) said, ‘Maybe there will be an offer for Duran.’ I don’t think Arsenal called Villa and said, “We want to sign him (Watkins).”
Carragher was then asked by Gary Neville why Arsenal had decided not to sign the English player. Mr Carragher explained: “They didn’t offer a good enough amount, even 50 million, 60 million, whatever it was.”
Arsenal’s apparent reluctance to spend money on Watkins now appears to be a wise decision, with Emery explaining ahead of the game against Brighton:
“He felt more or less the same pain that we are feeling now. (At that time) we needed John Duran as a second striker. He scored goals and helped the team.
“Right now he’s feeling the same pain. He’s not feeling 100 percent. We’re trying to work things out with him. We’re trying to get him completely pain-free and get through this and feel good again and be able to score with confidence.”
“We want him to be pain-free and in the best possible fitness to play consistently. For example, yesterday he did not train. We kept him indoors and only used the physio, but tomorrow he will be able to play. We are trying to give him some rest. He will not have an operation. He needs rest because of this pain.”
