Arsenal tried to sign Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins in the January transfer window.
The Gunners have been in need of a new striker for several years now, and the season-ending injury to Gabriel Jesus put them under a lot of pressure.
Mikel Arteta explored the options on the market in the January window, and Arsenal tabled a bid for Watkins to bring him in.
No move materialised then, and Simon Jordan has now delivered his verdict on whether he should be a target for Arsenal again this summer.
Simon Jordan says Ollie Watkins is not good enough for Arsenal
Arsenal are almost guaranteed to sign a new striker this summer.
The Gunners have failed to bring in a new number nine over the last few years for one reason or another, and that has handicapped them in attack.
The expectation is that Arsenal will not repeat that mistake in the upcoming window, and several names have been linked with a move to the Emirates.
Ollie Watkins could be an option after Arsenal failed to get him in January, but Jordan isn’t convinced that he is the player who will get Arteta’s side over the line.
He said on talkSPORT: “I don’t think he’s a world-class player. I think he’s a good player. He has been good for Aston Villa, and Aston Villa have been good for him. It was a nice step-up for him from Brentford, everyone did well out of the deal, in terms of Brentford got a decent fee for him.
“Yeah, clearly (he’s a better player now and a more clinical finisher), because he has played Premier League football. I don’t know what his goal-to-game ratio is, but ultimately, he has achieved a meaningful status for Aston Villa to be their greatest Premier League goalscorer.
“Does he take Arsenal somewhere they have not been, i.e., gives them an outcome that we’re constantly saying they haven’t had? Because I don’t think he does.”
The one reason why Arsenal should not sign Ollie Watkins
Watkins checks a lot of boxes for Arsenal.
The Englishman can run in behind, drift to either wing, and he is strong enough to hold the ball up to a certain extent as well. To add to that, he is a clinical finisher more often than not.
All of the above are good signs for Arsenal, but the fact that Watkins will turn 30 at the end of this year is a big concern.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense to meet Aston Villa’s asking price of £60 million for Watkins (FT) when he’s on the verge of entering his 30s.
Furthermore, the Gunners’ other striker targets – the likes of Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko – are both younger than Watkins and will be available for around the same fee.
That is why Arsenal are better off going for either Gyokeres or Sesko than Watkins this summer.
