Arsenal offer for ‘dream’ Watkins transfer ‘encouraged’ amid ‘quick pivot’ to ‘new striker priority’

According to reports, Ollie Watkins’ team ‘encouraged’ Arsenal to make a bid for the Aston Villa forward, who is likely to miss out on his ‘dream’ move.
The Gunners are trying to sign a new striker before the January transfer window closes. Gabriel Jesus’ injury has left them with Kai Havertz as head coach Mikel Arteta’s only centre-forward option.
Arsenal are perhaps rueing their failure to sign a new forward in the summer. They decided against pursuing an alternative for Benjamin Sesko after the RB Leipzig standout penned a new contract.
Despite this, it’s been reported that the 21-year-old is still expected to leave RB Leipzig this summer and he remains one of Arsenal’s top targets.
However, Arsenal appear unwilling to wait until the summer as they had a £60m bid rejected for Watkins earlier this week.
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The 29-year-old is often wasteful in front of goal, but he still has eleven goals and nine assists in his 32 appearances for Aston Villa this season.
Aston Villa are in a strong position as Watkins is under contract until 2028 and they are unlikely to sanction his exit as Jhon Duran is leaving for Al Nassr.
A report from GiveMeSport claims ‘Arsenal headed to the negotiating table for Watkins after being persuaded to test the resolve of Premier League rivals Aston Villa’.
‘Arsenal were given encouragement to make a bid for Watkins, according to GMS sources, with it being likely that intermediaries have been attempting to discover the level of interest in the Aston Villa frontman ahead of the winter transfer window’s fast-approaching February 3 deadline.
‘Although the north Londoners are being forced to contend with the Villans insisting the 29-year-old will be going nowhere in the coming days, Arteta and influential figures behind the scenes are expected to return with an improved offer as they seek further firepower in an attempt to close the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool.
‘Arsenal have decided that failing to recruit a striker before Monday is not an option, GMS sources have learned, and they are doing all they can to ensure they are not left short of options for the remainder of the campaign as there are fears it could have a telling impact on their trophy ambitions.’
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A report from Caught Offside claims Arsenal have ‘quickly pivoted’ to their ‘new striker priority.
‘The Gunners have quickly pivoted away from Watkins despite reports to the contrary and, in fact, are now going to push for either Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig or Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus.
‘Mikel Arteta’s priority has always been Sesko, and Leipzig’s elimination from the Champions League could yet facilitate the player’s exit, even if the Bundesliga outfit is absolutely not open to reducing his price.
‘If, in the end, there is no time for Arsenal to buy a more traditional centre-forward, sources have told CaughtOffside that Arsenal will also evaluate the possibility of buying a replacement for Bukayo Saka.
‘At present, the players under consideration are Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo – who is also of interest to Liverpool – and Bryan Mbeumo, whose contract expires at Brentford in June 2026.’