Arsenal may have suffered a big Ollie Watkins transfer blow after what Unai Emery has just done

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Arsenal’s pursuit of Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has taken another twist.

The Gunners are looking to recruit a forward to add to Mikel Arteta’s ranks before Monday’s deadline.

Matheus Cunha has been linked with Arsenal, while Benjamin Sesko and Mathys Tel have also been mooted as potential options.

However, Ollie Watkins has emerged as the most likely signing in recent days, with the North Londoners launching a bid for the Englishman last Monday.

• READ MORE: Chris Sutton cannot understand what Mikel Arteta has just done at Arsenal, it’s ‘odd’

Arsenal target Ollie Watkins starts for Aston Villa against Wolves

Watkins is enjoying a productive season for Villa, scoring ten goals and registering five assists in 23 Premier League appearances thus far.

Arsenal are crying out for a striker capable of converting chances into goals at a rate like this, hence their interest in the Villa man.

Unai Emery claimed that Watkins is happy in the West Midlands on Friday, and this has been reflected in the Spaniard’s team selection for the Villans’ trip to Wolves on Saturday afternoon.

Watkins starts up front, with Morgan Rogers deployed in behind him.

This certainly suggests that a deal isn’t imminent, and perhaps indicates that there is little chance of it coming to fruition.

However, with Jhon Duran leaving for Al-Nassr and a replacement not arriving as of yet, it’s plausible that Watkins starts purely out of necessity.

Arsenal are expected to test Villa’s resolve with another bid.

Ollie Watkins’ statistics are impressive

Scoring 27 goals in all competitions last season, Watkins is certainly prolific.

However, the number nine’s underlying data is equally as impressive as his surface level statistics.

Generating 0.65 expected goals per 90, Watkins also takes over three shots per game, indicating that his goal-scoring exploits are sustainable and no fluke.

On top of that, he boasts encouraging creative numbers for a striker, suggesting that he’d fit Arteta’s ideal profile for a centre-forward.

If Arsenal can still somehow get this done, they have to try everything in their power to enact it.