Arsenal are in the market for a goalscoring striker ahead of the January transfer window and former Gunner Mikaël Silvestre has told Mikel Arteta to prioritise the signing of Ollie Watkins over Ivan Toney.
The Brentford striker is expected to leave the Bees in January upon his return from his current eight-month ban for breaking the FA’s gambling rules and Arsenal have been one of the clubs heavily linked to the England star.
The 27-year-old had an exceptional campaign for Brentford last season, finishing third in the Premier League scoring chart with 20 goals, but Silvestre believes his former club should move for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins instead.
“Right now you have Eddie Nketiah at the club alongside Gabriel Jesus, but signing a third striker could present them with a luxury that could be useful at this level,” the former defender told GGRecon.
“Especially when you consider the amount of games that Arsenal could potentially play this season. The team always needs healthy competition and it needs quality, so if Arsenal were to sign another striker in the near future, then it would be [Ollie] Watkins over [Ivan] Toney if the decision was up to me.”
Watkins is a self-proclaimed Arsenal fan after growing up supporting the Gunners and would likely jump at the chance to play for the North London club. However, the Englishman has just signed a new contract with Aston Villa until 2028, meaning the Birmingham club are under no pressure to sell and if they do, it will be for very big money.
I wish other clubs would leave villa players alone,specially when theyv just signed a new contract Arsenal dnt need any more players, they are top of the prem ,so jog on .