Unai Emery addresses Ollie Watkins future amidst Arsenal interest

Aston Villa will be “very demanding” over Ollie Watkins future, according to Unai Emery, after the team turned down an offer from Arsenal for the striker on Wednesday.

Villa’s stance that Watkins is not for sale makes a move unlikely to be completed this window, although it is anticipated that Arsenal will return with a better offer after their initial offer was rejected.

Al Nassr, a Saudi Arabian team, thinks they have landed Jhon Duran, Villa’s second star striker. Duran was not used as a replacement, but Watkins started and scored in Wednesday night’s Champions League victory over Celtic, tapping the club’s emblem as he celebrated.

Following the match, Emery stated his desire to retain Watkins at Villa Park and seemed to issue a warning to Arsenal regarding their pursuit of the striker before the deadline on Monday.

“I don’t want [him to leave],” he told his press conference. “It is good news to have an offer from other clubs, or interest. It is good.

“But we want to keep our sporting objective through the players we have in the squad. Every player can be in the market in case it is good for the club, the player and the team but to get this deal of course we are going to be very demanding as well and Watkins is our striker.”

Hours before Villa’s Champions League match against Celtic, news of Arsenal’s bid for Watkins surfaced, and Emery included the striker in his starting lineup.

With 10 goals this season, including Villa’s equalizer at Arsenal earlier this month, Ollie Watkins, who is known to be an Arsenal supporter, is currently the ninth-leading goalscorer in the Premier League.

The 29-year-old scored the game-winning goal in England’s triumph over the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final last season, one of five goals in 18 outings for the country.