Stop blaming me for not signing Him last night,blame Arteta instead because He was the one that told me He’s okay with His squad that He doesn’t need any Addition for now”, Stan Kroenke finally revealed what happened at late night yesterday that Made Him not to sign £100M premier league Attacker
Stop blaming me for not signing Him last night,blame Arteta instead because He was the one that told me He’s okay with His squad that He doesn’t need any Addition for now”, Stan Kroenke finally revealed what happened at late night yesterday that Made Him not to sign £100M premier league Attacker
Arsenal ended the winter transfer window without making a single signing.
The Gunners are six points behind Liverpool in the Premier League table despite playing a game more. They have a mountain to climb in the coming months, and they needed help in this window.
The North Londoners were linked with several strikers over the last few weeks, but in the end, no move materialised even on deadline day.
Now, an update has emerged on what happened during Arsenal’s pursuit of one key target.
David Ornstein shares what really happened after Arsenal tried to sign Ollie Watkins
Ollie Watkins became a surprise target for Arsenal in the final days of the window.
The Aston Villa star is among the best strikers in the Premier League. He doesn’t get talked about as much as the likes of Erling Haaland or Alexander Isak, but his numbers are still excellent.
Watkins directly contributed to 40 goals in the 2023/24 season and his tally for this campaign stands at 20 already. He is an ‘incredible‘ striker.
Aston Villa rejected Arsenal’s bid to sign Watkins, but David Ornstein has revealed that Unai Emery’s side were open to striking a deal for the right price.
However, Arsenal held no meaningful talks with Villa after their first offer was turned down.
Ornstein said on The Athletic’s podcast: “On Watkins, naturally these things are not easy when it gets to such a late point in the window. Clearly, Villa gave Arsenal the opportunity to do this deal or have a conversation on the basis of a £60 million possibility.
“That was something clearly Arsenal were not prepared to do at that value for a 29-year-old, who in their eyes is probably not worth that much. They decided to suggest around the £40m mark. Villa were being serious when they suggested £60 million because that’s where they value him and if they need to make the numbers work, with PSR and whatever else.”
When told that £60 million was too low a valuation, Ornstein replied: “That’s what they would have been prepared to have a conversation for. We don’t know if it would have led to an offer being accepted, but the door was clearly opened at that level and Arsenal weren’t prepared to go there.
“Some people I’ve spoken to say Arsenal should’ve bit their hand off and gone and done that in a flash. But immediately when you suggest £40 million and they’ve got the Duran possibility on the horizon, Aston Villa pivoted immediately and saw out the Duran situation. There was no further dialogue to my knowledge, at least of substance.
“Now, clearly, for somebody that has gone on record at saying he’s an Arsenal supporter as a boy and it would have been his dream move etc, perhaps Watkins would have pushed for it if it came close, but it didn’t come close. There was no attempt by Arsenal to go again or be more concrete.”
Arsenal’s transfer decision puts one player in danger
Arsenal would’ve had to overpay to sign any striker in the January transfer window.
The Gunners valued Watkins at £40 million and were not prepared to go beyond that. That does make sense considering that the Aston Villa striker is 29 already.
But, Arsenal’s decision to not bring in a new striker means that Kai Havertz will play almost every single game from now until the end of the season.
The German has already had to work really hard and has looked knackered in recent weeks. But, he has no choice but to keep pushing.
That sort of load increases the risk of injuries, which would be catastrophic for Arsenal as they have no other recognised centre-forward if Havertz becomes unavailable.
