Ollie Watkins has claimed that Arsenal legend, Theirry Henry, is ‘the best Premier League player of all time’, as he told Pro: Direct Soccer.
The Aston Villa striker shared that he grew up ‘a big Arsenal fan’ and Henry was someone he looked up to during his career.
In his debut season in the Premier League, he scored three goals in two matches against Arsenal, but he failed to get on the scoresheet during Villa’s trip to the Emirates this term.
Of course, all of that can change for the reverse campaign, as Watkins has showcased a habit of scoring against London teams.
Either way, given Arsenal’s dominance during the late ’90s and early-to-mid noughties, it’s no surprise there are many who support the club.
And Watkins is one of them, with one of the greatest strikers of all time, Henry, being a key figure behind it all.
“Growing up, I was a big Arsenal fan,” said Watkins. “Thierry Henry (was the one I looked up to).
On Arsenal now not doing as well as they used to: “No comment,” laughed Watkins. “No comment.
“I think he (Henry) is the best player to play in the Premier League. He could do everything.”
Watkins hasn’t scored the number of goals that he would have liked at this stage of the season, as he has five to his name from 17 Premier League matches.
But it needs to be remembered that he did miss the first few games of the campaign through injury and Villa have gone through a managerial change.
Added with that, having Danny Ings at the club has probably been a partnership that hasn’t worked.
Watkins is seemingly better at leading the line on his own, rather than playing up top with Ings or coming from the left.
But there are still plenty of games to go for Watkins to boost his numbers up and push Villa towards the top half of the table.
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