Ollie Watkins latest: Mikel Arteta addresses Arsenal's alleged £60m bid for Aston Villa striker

The Gunners are keen to bring a new forward to the Emirates Stadium before the end of the January transfer window, and it is understood that they submitted a £60m offer to Villa for Watkins.

Unai Emery's side, though, are said to have quickly rejected the bid, with the club determined to keep hold of the England international beyond the transfer deadline.

Arteta was asked about the situation following Arsenal's Champions League clash with Girona on Wednesday night, but the Spaniard refused to confirm whether an offer for Watkins had been submitted.

However, the Gunners head coach said that his club are 'trying to improve' their squad before the end of the transfer window.

"I cannot talk about any of that, my confidence is that we have an amazing club and people working always to try to improve and let's see what happens," Arteta told reporters on Wednesday night.

Arteta coy on Arsenal's 'offer' for Watkins

Villa have agreed to sell Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr in a mega-money deal, meaning that the club are not under any pressure to sell Watkins, and it is highly unlikely that both forwards would be allowed to leave this close to the end of the transfer window.

Watkins made the move to Villa Park from Brentford in September 2020, and he has represented his current side on 201 occasions in all competitions, scoring 81 goals and registering 35 assists in the process.

The 29-year-old has been in strong form for Villa during the 2024-25 season, netting 11 times and registering nine assists in 32 appearances, including 10 goals and five assists in the Premier League.

Despite the criticism surrounding Kai Havertz, the forward has scored 14 times in 32 appearances for Arsenal this season, making him comfortably the club's leading goalscorer in 2024-25.

However, the lack of a genuine centre-forward could cost the Gunners the chance to win silverware this season, with no other player in the squad in double figures at this stage of the campaign.

Could Arsenal sign Watkins before the deadline?

If Duran was not on the verge of moving to Al-Nassr, then there is a world where Watkins could leave in the latter stages of the transfer window, especially if Arsenal increase their offer.

However, it is incredibly difficult to imagine Villa allowing their two senior strikers to leave at this stage of the campaign, with the club present in the next round of the Champions League, so Arsenal will seemingly have to look elsewhere if they wish to bring in a new forward before Monday night's deadline.

Written by

Matt Law