Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is fully aware of Ollie Watkins ‘threat’ ahead of this weekend’s crunch Premier League clash between The Gunners and Aston Villa.
Winning each of their last 14 home league games, Arsenal travel to Villa Park on Saturday evening knowing that a defeat will cut the gap between the two clubs to just one single point at the top of the table.
Pep Guardiola, his Manchester City team resembling mere mortals up against a superhuman Aston Villa outfit, sees no reason why Unai Emery’s side cannot emerge as genuine title contenders this season, with Arsenal’s trip to the Midlands another major test of their ambitions.
And Gunners boss Mikel Arteta knows his backline will be in for a tough afternoon up against a striker who’s relentless enthusiasm and searing pace would have even the most self-confident of centre-halves reaching for the sleeping pills the night before kick-off.
Ollie Watkins has 13 goals and eight assists in all competitions already this term.
Arsenal travel to Aston Villa
“He’s been tremendously consistent over the last few years. He is a real threat,” Arteta says of the £28 million England international, via The Metro.
“Like all other strikers, don’t give him the ball in the box! That’s his main quality.”
With four goals in six games, Watkins can boast a very impressive record against Arteta’s side. That Emirates brace in a 3-0 Aston Villa win at the start of 2020/21 felt like the former Brentford forward’s emergence as a potentially top-level Premier League centre-forward, and Watkins has gone from strength-to-strength ever since.
Arteta, meanwhile, is full of praise for his Arsenal predecessor too, Emery bouncing back from a difficult spell in charge of the London giants at Villa Park.
Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery go head-to-head
“He did some really good things here,” Arteta argues. “It’s not for me to judge that. The first season was a strong season.
“He did it straight away after coming from PSG, he then did incredibly well at Villarreal. And now he is doing really well at Aston Villa.
“He has a lot of experience and skill to get the best out of teams.”
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