Ollie Watkins disclosed a private conversation with Declan Rice, prompted by calls for Arsenal to sign him. Arsenal, hunting for a striker, eye Watkins, who’s excelled with 19 goals and 12 assists in 34 Premier League games for Aston Villa.
Theo Walcott urged Arsenal to sign Watkins in the upcoming transfer window, likening him to Thierry Henry. This follows Mikael Silvestre’s preference for Watkins over Brentford’s Ivan Toney, Arsenal’s January target.
Watkins, lauded by Arsenal icon Henry in March, shared details of a private chat with Gunners’ midfielder Rice. They didn’t talk about Watkins joining Arsenal but focused on Villa’s potential success in the Europa Conference League, inspired by Rice’s triumph with West Ham last season.
Before Villa’s Europa Conference League semi-final versus Olympiacos, Watkins informed TNT Sports:
“I spoke to Declan Rice at England. He was confident that we’re going to win it. We’re confident ourselves but you never know what’s going to happen. You never know with these teams. Lille put us under a lot of pressure and it’s going to be difficult but I think we have got the squad to do it.”
Watkins expressed admiration for one of Arsenal’s greatest icons, stating:
“My idol was Thierry Henry. I always felt when he cut inside from the left and bending it in, that was always…. I scored one against Luton! But Henry did it frequently. I’m not on that level yet. But he’s someone I wanted to be like. I have my own style of how I play, but growing up he was the main man. I personally think he is the best player to play in the Premier League. He could do it all and he was untouchable, really.”
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