Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins had the potential to assist his boyhood club, Arsenal, in their Premier League title battle with Liverpool. The 29-year-old was a major target for the Gunners in January, but he ultimately stayed at Villa Park.
Instead, Jhon Duran was the forward who departed, securing a big-money move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr. In the final days of the transfer window, Villa brought in Marcos Asensio and Marcus Rashford on loan, briefly raising Arsenal’s hopes of signing Watkins. However, the decision had seemingly already been made. According to football.london, Arsenal had tabled a £40 million offer, including add-ons, before talks for Duran progressed. It is also believed that Villa initiated discussions, possibly seeing a chance to secure a strong fee while having a replacement already lined up.
Despite not joining Arsenal, Watkins has still played a role in their title pursuit. On Wednesday, league leaders Liverpool visited Villa Park for a match rescheduled from mid-March due to their involvement in the Carabao Cup final. Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead just before the 30-minute mark, but Youri Tielemans equalized less than 10 minutes later. Just before halftime, Watkins scored a well-placed header to give Villa the lead.
Trent Alexander-Arnold leveled the game in the second half, but neither side could find a winner in the final 30 minutes. As a result, Watkins’ goal caused Liverpool to drop two crucial points in the title race, at a venue where Arsenal had previously won. Following the match, Watkins shared a celebratory photo on Instagram, simply captioned with a salute emoji.
While some may view Watkins’ goal as a favor to Arsenal, it’s worth noting that he also scored against them recently, meaning this strike against Liverpool merely balances out the points lost. Arsenal will now turn their hopes to Manchester City, who face Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
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