Peter Crouch says the Arsenal board recently did something ‘ridiculous’, it hasn’t helped Mikel Arteta

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Arsenal’s board will be reflecting on a difficult season so far and what has gone into a particularly frustrating Premier League campaign once again.

After finishing runners-up twice over the past two seasons, the eventual fall-off of Manchester City seemingly opened the path for Mikel Arteta to swoop in and lift the title.

That, however, appears to be increasingly unlikely, with Liverpool holding quite the advantage at the top of the Premier League.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	29	21	7	1	69	27	42	70
2	ArsenalArsenal	29	16	10	3	53	24	29	58

While it isn’t quite over, Arsenal will be looking ahead to next season and how they can improve to finally make it their year.

One of those important mistakes likely surrounds the lack of a striker signing, with Peter Crouch calling one saga particularly “ridiculous”.

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Peter Crouch says Arsenal’s bid for Ollie Watkins was “ridiculous”

Arsenal’s lack of a striker signing over the previous summer window raised some eyebrows as they failed to secure the clinical finisher they seemingly needed.

The Gunners were then left in the dark as injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz left the side without a recognised senior centre-forward.

As a result, late in the winter transfer window, Arsenal made a bid to sign Ollie Watkins in the hope of landing the Aston Villa star.

The striker, who is an Arsenal fan, has impressed in the Premier League ever since he took the step up to that level.

With the situation, the Arsenal board appeared to see an opportunity to secure him but ultimately missed out.

In all, former Liverpool and Tottenham striker Peter Crouch wasn’t happy with how the deal went about.

Speaking to TNT Sports, he said: “The Ollie Watkins bid was absolutely ridiculous.

“There was no way he was going to leave, they’re [Aston Villa] still in the Champions League by the way.

“It was a low offer really, they were never going to do it, it just felt like that was to appease the fans, ‘we are involved in trying to get a striker’.”

It’s unclear whether, if Jhon Duran’s deal to Al-Nassr fell through, the Gunners could’ve got a deal through for Watkins.

However, in the end, it has been and gone, and Arsenal are left to reflect on a difficult season.

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Arsenal likely to avoid Ollie Watkins transfer return

While Watkins was on the radar for the January transfer window, it seems unlikely that Arsenal will be back in the market for the forward.

The England international is 29 years old and currently in his peak years, which may be a draw for some, but it could put the Gunners off as they look for long-term solutions.

With younger stars like Benjamin Sesko and Alexander Isak on their radar, the North London club are more likely to push the boat out for the future.

Watkins appeared to be more of an opportunistic move in the winter market at a time when they needed a player.

That’s not to rule him out, though, given his quality and the different dimension he could offer Arsenal.

However, it seems as though priorities will lie elsewhere.