The Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins spoke about his latest slide in the chopping command, just a few months after Arsenal followed a late January approach Sign him.
Watkins has started only one of five villa games since the international break in March and appeared in the other four in the Premier League, in the FA Cup and in the Champions League from the bank.
The 29-year-old suffered a knee injury last month and was then left out from the English squad, the first by the new manager Thomas Tuchel.
In the games in which Watkins was a replacement, Marcus Rashford was used centrally. But when Watkins replaced his compatriot against Southampton with the score at the weekend, he was the one who started a later 3-0 victory to push the villa from the places of the Champions League within a time.
“For me, I’m not happy to sit on the bench,” said Watkins. “It is disappointing every game that I am on the bench, but it is the manager’s decision at the end of the day.”
After Watkins won a penalty that Marco Asensio had saved, he found the network on the track with creative praise and made his Premier League counting for the season to 14. This is the fifth top campaign in a row, in which Watkins reached the double number and is currently together in the top scorer of the league.
It was this type of proven records that made the English international a attractive option for Arsenal during the January window and gave a bid after Gabriel Jesus lost to an ACL injury that was rejected.
His frustrating situation in the villa may not exist, but if he continues in summer, Arsenal is probably no longer an option. It was recently reported that the Gunners have cooled their interest and will not return with a revised offer in summer. Instead, they have a different interest – Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokoker, Benjamin Sesko and Mathus Cunha – who are all younger.