Arsenal have been in need of a new striker for several years now.
The last centre-forward the Gunners brought in was Gabriel Jesus back in 2022, and his struggles in front of goal have been evident for everyone to see.
Arsenal should’ve signed at least one new striker since, but for one reason or another, nobody has come in over the last few years.
Mikel Arteta’s side did try in the January transfer window, but their attempt was rejected.
Ollie Watkins was ‘disappointed’ after Aston Villa rejected Arsenal’s offer
Arsenal were in desperate need of reinforcements in the January transfer window.
The Gunners lost Jesus to a season-ending injury just when it seemed like he was returning to his best. Bukayo Saka was already injured at the time, and Mikel Merino wasn’t yet an option up front.
Arteta’s side explored several options on the market, and in the end, Arsenal decided to make a £60 million bid to sign Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa.
The offer came late in the window, by which point the Villans had already agreed to sell Jhon Duran to Saudi side Al-Nassr.
So, Arsenal’s offer was rejected, and they ended up making no signings in the winter window.
Now, Tom Collomosse has revealed on Daily Mail that Watkins wasn’t too pleased that his move to his boyhood club Arsenal was blocked in January.
The journalist said: “Watkins was disappointed that Villa never accepted the offer from Arsenal last January and has been unhappy when he’s been left out of the side.
“Never say never (about a summer sale) with this Villa regime: they are instinctive deal-makers rather than methodical planners and can change direction in a heartbeat.”
Are Arsenal still interested in Ollie Watkins?
Ollie Watkins is a proven goalscorer in the Premier League, and players like him are hard to find.
Arsenal will definitely sign a new striker this summer, and Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko are their top targets as things stand.
Either of them would be fantastic, but Steve Kay claimed recently that Watkins could be signed by Arsenal too as a backup.
Jesus is not expected to be back anytime soon, while the journalist revealed that Arteta is set to move Kai Havertz back to midfield.
That frees up some space for Watkins, but it remains to be seen if he will accept a second-choice role at Arsenal this summer.
