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Ollie Watkins has named his top five Premier League strikers of all time with an Arsenal legend clinching top spot, but there was no room for Wayne Rooney.
The Aston Villa striker has been in a rich vein of form this season, scoring six Premier League goals and registering five assists to put Unai Emery’s side within three points of table-toppers Manchester City.
Consecutive England call-ups have demonstrated Gareth Southgate’s ambitions to use Watkins as a back-up for Three Lions captain Harry Kane at next year’s European Championship.
His goalscoring exploits for Villa this season have made Watkins one of the most formidable strikers in the English top-flight and he has now revealed the former professionals who inspired him.
Watkins has scored 11 goals in all competitions with Villa fighting for silverware in the Carabao Cup, UEFA Europa Conference League and the Premier League.
The 27-year-old has rose through the ranks of English football, starting his career at Exeter City during which time he had a spell at non-league side Weston Super Mare, before moving onto Brentford and eventually Aston Villa.
Watkins picked his top five Premier League strikers of all time in a recent interview with BT Sport and named former Spurs forward Jermain Defoe as his fifth choice.
Defoe scored 302 career goals with spells at Tottenham, West Ham and Sunderland proving as the most rewarding before he retired last year following a stint at Rangers.
Watkins then picked former Arsenal and Man United goalscorer Robin van Persie as the Premier League’s fourth best striker after the Dutchman’s heroics at both clubs.
Van Persie was a legend at Arsenal before swapping the Gunners for Man United where his goalscoring exploits guided the club to a 13th Premier League crown and Sir Alex Ferguson’s final title.
As such his reputation at the former has somewhat soured, but he remains one of the finest goal scorers in the Premier League, capable of some truly memorable strikes for club and country.
Another United striker made a surprise inclusion in Watkins’ top picks as Ruud van Nistelrooy clinched third spot.
Van Nistelrooy’s time at Old Trafford saw him burst onto the scene with 95 Premier League goals in just 150 appearances, before he was then sold to Real Madrid.
Alan Shearer was the runner-up for Watkins with the Englishman still holding the all-time Premier League goals record after scoring 260 times in the competition.
However, top spot was reserved for Arsenal icon Thierry Henry, who Watkins described as a player who he ‘idolises’.
The Frenchman scored 175 goals during his time with the Gunners, during which time he won the Premier League twice before being sold to Barcelona – and has even earned himself a bronze statue outside the Emirates Stadium
