If you have to buy a house, you normally bid for properties that are officially on the market.
If the asking price is £250,000 and I offer £100,000, can I seriously claim I did everything to purchase a new home?
There’s a divide in our fanbase about how genuine our interest is in Ollie Watkins. Reports vary on when negotiations began with Aston Villa and how far apart all parties are on the valuation. Some even suggest, as a boyhood Gooner, it was the player himself who welcomed the interest. That, though, was when he thought he was competing with Jhon Durán.
Constantly flirting with breaching FFP rules, Villa couldn’t afford to have one of their major assets sitting on the bench. Financially, it could have made more sense cashing in on Watkins purely because Durán is younger. At 29, your resale value is starting to reduce.
Al Nassr, though, were willing to pay over the odds. One theory is they heard this in North London and felt this was their last chance to make a move. That’s, though, being kind.
The reason many supporters feel this was simply a PR move is because of their footballing education. Unai Emery wouldn’t want to be left without a striker. His employers wouldn’t need the cash because of the Saudi Arabia investment.

There would be backlash against the owners when there is a feel-good feeling at Villa Park. The money wouldn’t compensate for missing out on Champions League revenue, which would happen if you lose two of your best attackers.
If a fan knows that, then surely so does Jason Ayto. In the short term, he’s replaced Edu at leading recruitment.
This often gets lost on people, but our recruiting team are not doing this out of love and loyalty. It’s literally their job to identify and scout talent—not just for one month but all year round, so a shortlist is ready when needed. They get paid thousands of pounds to find the criteria of player Mikel Arteta requires.
The window closes on Monday, and we have yet, in January, been able to support the squad, even though we have known since December that Saka could be missing for the rest of the season.
The irony is that many want Michael Oliver punished because they translate a mistake as not doing your job. Yet what do you call making an offer you know will be rejected before you even send it?
That’s the best we can do?
We have money. Other attacking players are moving. You can’t, with a straight face, say this Watkins saga is Arsenal FC trying to be the best we can be.
Yet those old enough will know this has been our tactic before: make an unrealistic bid, then tell your customers, “at least we tried.”
Remember how many times Mr Wenger would be his employer’s shield, saying we were only in the market for the very best.
I have been actually surprised how many don’t seem to rate Watkins, so I sense it’s not desired for Arsenal to pay over the odds. Yet they must have known this is the month where there is inflation, and Villa were only ever going to entertain silly money.
Of course, they knew that.
I see you, Stan Kroenke, and thankfully, more and more of my peers are beginning to as well.
If we get to Monday and we don’t have a natural finisher, then saying “we tried” won’t wash.
Vlahovic?
Have to agree with you Dan. There has been ample time to sign a striker this window and going for Watkins at this stage seems like a smoke and mirrors ploy, just asking for trouble if it was real. Of course Villa are going to ask for top price, selling Watkins would be a suicidal move, leaving them without a striker while still contesting a top four spot and an extended run in Champions League. Their fans would turn against the club destroying all the faith that Emery has built. On Arsenal’s part it would be a huge gamble, paying premium for a 29 year old who can also be a bit wasteful, even though he would temporarily be much more effective than King Kai. Those in charge at Arsenal must be aware of this and will be happy to see the current squad ride out the season while maintaining top four and perhaps reaching the semi finals in the Champions thus giving the club exposure and bringing in some cash.
If the transfer window closes and there are no attacking signings then we will know that the club isn’t serious about winning any major trophies. We lost Saka for 3-5 months and Jesus for the whole season. Luckily the timing allowed us time to react in the market but here we are 3 days from the end and nothing. No serious club would do that.
Even worse it’s not like we spend a lot of money in the summer and are helpless. Our net spent was only 10m
This is just a smoke screen that will result into nothing. They had ample time to assess and acquire their target. They had enough time to look into plan B and C when their 1st choice failed. I hope they are working on other target and this is just a diversion. It’s too risky to go with Havertz as the main striker for the rest of the season.
Yep. I’ve said exactly the same thing. It’s a cynical bid for a player we won’t get but is of suitable quality to make it look like we actually tried to help out the team. I don’t think Arteta has any interest in actually bringing in a striker, he’s fully bought in to this strikerless mentality even though we have a style of play perfectly suited to a big number 9, instead we force Havertz to perform the role, which he does admirably.
There are good players Arsenal could buy to help the squad, help Havertz, and help this team achieve the goals they’ve got so close to the last 2 seasons. Vlahovic is available. Jonathan David is available. We could bid for Jean Philippe Mateta, who is playing excellently for Crystal Palace. Instead we bid for a 29 year old player who absolutely will not be sold in this window.
Utter nonsense.
Desperation ,nothing more nothing less ,I actually like him but nothing else on the market and this is where the club as got to .
6 months to late all this talk about players need to have a 10000 word dossier about them and 6months reconnaissance is b0llocks .
Same old Arsenal .
“reports vary” “one theory is” enough of this dribble
I’ve been saying this for many years now….the owner has the bloodthirsty fans written all over his old shoes, his team has been without a title for 21 years, the ridiculous thing is that they are considered a big club but he always looks at the backs of others…sorry for the people, the story…I’m sorry because because of the people’s love for the club, profitability is at the top level…Unfortunately in England They don’t show their displeasure with an empty stadium…so this monk is constantly collecting to take with him to the next life. To hell with Kroenke.
Sadly though they have many Gooners defending them
I doubted that Arsenal would be in the transfer market for a striker in this window. even though the consensus is that one is required. The scramble to sign one now is only based on the long term injury to Jesus a fortnight ago. Arteta says the club are working on it, but signing a player for the sake of it is not in his or the club’s thinking.
With Jhon Duràn moving to the Saudi Pro league, I don’t see how Aston Villa will let Watkins join Arsenal even with an improved bid.
Arsenal don’t seem keen on signing any big player this window, otherwise why make a bid with very few days to the close of the window?
The loan market should be explored for an attacking player or we may just have to make do with the players we
have until the summer window opens.
It was a genuine bid, just totally misguided and rash. The strikers we want are not readily available and misguidedly, we thought we could bully Villa. A poor move, in more ways than one. We are desperate.
Can you envisage a solution in this transfer window?
Marcus Rashord loan or permanent ☺️
I would take Rashford on loan as a body (!would have to make Neto permanent) but not as confident about him as a couple of months ago
Once thought he would in fresh environment be hungry to prove a point but clearly something has happened
Rashford is at a pivotal moment in his career. It appears he’s not willing to reduce his salary and there isn’t a queue of suitors battling for his signature bearing in mind his stand off with Utd. He appears to want to resurrect his career on his terms which doesn’t align with Arteta’s philosophy even if Utd paid a chunk of his wages. It would be a pass for me.
That’s one at last second someone will test United bluff and get them to pay a large chunk of his salary
I am reading reports (ESPN) that Villa is looking to take Rashford on loan. If this is the case it could be that they are preparing for life without Watkins.
I still don’t see the link myself
Maybe I’m being hopeful. Watkins would be an improvement on current strikers but I don’t think he is the top striker we want anyway.
What makes you say he is an improvement on our current strikers? He is older than both Jesus and Havertz, he is less technically gifted, he is less versatile, and has only scored 2 more goals in the league than Havertz, so explain how and why he is better. This Havertz hating has got to stop. Jeez. Such narrow-minded, blinkered opinions.
Because Havertz and Jesus are not natural goal scorers
I wouldn’t mind an unnatural goal scorer.
Apparently Villa are prepared to pay 80% of his wages.
The solution is the hands of the Kroenkes, to pay the Exit clause of Gyokeres for 83 millions Pounds.
But I thing that Arteta never intended to buy another striker, as he mentioned earlier that he would look for ” internal” solutions when asked about new signings. Probably he knew that the money was not available or to protect his Havertz proyect.
When the Nyppan deal was looking ever so likely to happen I did predict here on JA that it would be Arsenal’s only business of the transfer window. Now that deal is off, expect nothing from our beloved club
Which means Arsenal are just one injury to a front player away from total disaster. And it will happen.
I had expressed the same expectation on JA and hoped a deal went through now so we could see first hand whether the kid is likely a bust or the next best thing in world football before having much more competition in the summer.
Partey can always move from RB for cover 🤣🤣
Bruised Banana,
Don’t give Arteta ideas. 🤣😂👍
I think will bring a body in but it will be more of a body to make up the numbers
Some of the excuses
Ollie is 29 years old and 60M+
Sesko does not want to move
Gykores is not EPL proven
Dusan turned us down years ago
Victor has bags of attitude
Jonathan David ???
Well do not lose hope, we can turn to CFC – Nkunku or Felix would be great additions or Rashford from ManU.
Footnote – we were never going to hire anyone since day one irrespective of Gabby J’s injury as most of last season he did not play and we coped without him. And as long as Top 4 Trophy is the benchmark for Mikel and Stan, be happy and content with that. “See where ManU and Tots are?”
3 days to go and I don’t think we will sign anyone which is very sad.
I pray they prove me wrong.
Some of us (including myself) will be feeling a bit sick if Oliie rocks up for his medical on Monday.
There have been suggestions of a smokescreen, but to what purpose? What event could Arsenal be attempting to hide or disguise?
So they turn around and say we tried because there will be fans who will make excuses
If he rocks up great but we can only talk about what’s been reported and at moment we are being told we offered 40 million !
To put that in.persoectuve we got 30 million for Eddie Nketiah 0 league goals at Palace
So did we send that offer believing Villa would say yes ?
If we go in closer to their valuation then I’ll report that mate
First bids are rarely ever accepted and asking prices are usually not met It gets them around the negotiating table
And if we go back in with a realistic offer then fair play
But if they said 60 and we offered 40 that’s an offer that makes zero sense
It’s unlikely to be a smokescreen. The author is just once again making insinuations based on unsound assumptions to create a silly talking point.
Well it’s worked on you lol ?
To be fair mate I’m not the only one who has suggested it
I think you are absolutely spot on with this
What do you expect from the bot? The offer made makes the intention obvious.
Jax,
The signing of Chelsea’s latest flop maybe?. 🤣😂👍🤦♂️
Just arsenal is becoming boring because the predictions have been removed. What’s happening Dan?
Great news guys, predictions returning!
To give everyone some time I will drop casual reminders but it will resume the weekend of Friday 14th February)
Essentially mate our next league game after Man City
Could have returned this week but wanted to give everyone some fair notice
Glad you like the predictions
reportedly Arsenal made the bid on Monday, in time for Villa to make decision on Watkins vs Duran
Villa chose to sell Duran four days later for silly money, in Villa’s shoes I would do the same
Arsenal bid not out of the blue as would have put in the pre-bid work on Watkins willingness to come, Villa expecting the bid
the change in Arsenal/Arteta thinking on January reinforcements came with Jesus season ending injury two weeks ago, before that Saka known to be out but expected to be back and Nwaneri showing well as cover
I also expect Arsenal sounded out Sesko first, long term strategic target
after that fizzled then move on to next target on the list, Watkins may not have been number two on the list, heading in to Monday it seems Arsenal had firmed up enough to lodge a formal bid with Villa – we all know as fans Arsenal do not chuck around £60m bids willy nilly, it was definitely serious
but Villa with two options chose the other one, +£70m for Duran too good to refuse
rumoured second bid has not happened, and I don’t expect it to now Duran departure confirmed
but never a PR stunt, as much as because the owners clearly don’t care about PR, never have
See I heard different
I heard that our bid was closer to 40 million
40 million they knew it would be rejected so it’s pointless
I am with you, although there are rumours that Villa want Rashford on loan, so who knows where it will all lead. Plenty of twists and turns.
I did not expect Arsenal to do anything in this window, where exciting deals are not the norm, but the Jesus injury and the pressure that puts on the squad’s wellbeing, suggests something will happen.
Allot of other clubs seem to be able to get attacking players ?
Are any of these attacking options ones that are a good fit?
Better then Kai Havertz in terms of goal scoring yes Sue lol
You not watch the FA /.Carabo Cup and think boy if we had a natural finisher
This isn’t about being right or wrong
It’s about Arsenal and it’s sad the Koronke Family in 2025 have fans still content
We don’t have to win title , just do your best
We pay some of the most expensive tickets and have the 2nd highest paid manager in the world and you accept that we can’t by now find a better striker then what we have?
Title race over in Feb . Is that okay with you ?
Dan
There is a lot of misinterpretation going on. The ownership is what it is and in the grand scheme of things, it’s better than plenty of others. . Spurs spring to mind.
If KSE maintains top4 with Arteta, the money flows in. If Arteta falls short then someone else will get a chance. It’s not possible to compare City and Chelsea under RA as they had money to burn and different rules. Are you thinking we all call for Kroenke to sell? It’s hardly the Glazers.
My original point went along the lines of:
Move heaven on earth to get the first choice. Or if that fails, get the proverbial body in to cover for the remainder of the season at a small fee
There is a considerable difference in opinion. Spend, spend, spend or take it on the chin that not much will happen. The one thing that Arsenal don’t appear to do is brief the media so until the transfer window closes information is sketchy. Arteta said that the club are trying but will not buy for the sake of it. Is that prudent or stupid? The likelihood of winning the league is diminishing so is it wise to invest in a player that isn’t nailed on for the future?
Because you do everything you do to be Champions
I agree with you that from a business point of view if we lost today they might say what’s the point in paying over the odds for a striker now if it’s not going to change anything
But does that not beg the question if they had got someone in start of January maybe we do better this month
Of course it’s up to you, if your happy for us to finish top 4 then great but I would then ask why did we give Mr Wenger such a hard time when he was doing that ?
You say money flows in ? What good is money flowing in to a fan if the squad isn’t invested in ?
Would I call for Koronke to sell ?
In a heartbeat
Have been terrible owners for Arsenal FC.
Just remember when Stan joined the board we had just got to a CL Final and and were moving to a stadium where we were told by how we be competing with Bayern Munich
We have regressed .
It seems he made us to a club happy to be in top 4 , then to 8th then back to a club happy to be in top 4
We had no plan to buy in January and we will probably not buy a key player in this window. I don’t think it’s the right approach, but I respect it. One step forward and two steps back🤔
@Didrik, that’s probably the truth of it.
…although I think it’s more like standing still. There’s still time for a trolly dash.
I think we will do something
Dan and Jax,
If we’re lucky during this trolley dash, we might get another raving success like Sterling. 😂🤦♂️
DEREK, that’s the usual outcome.
I think they have to do something mate
Especially if we don’t beat City I think there will be a backlash
The fear Is we beat City and they think we are fine ?
I’m just worried this moment will pass us by again
A convincing win tomorrow, and they’ll be saying “what’s the problem, we don’t need anybody”. Bad loss and it’ll be “sack Arteta”
If Liverpool win today I can’t see us beating City
Pressure will be too much and we won’t mentally be strong enough
Although I think it will be draw in both
Oh well,
Is it a waste of time any Arsenal ticket holders going to the City game tomorrow?
Your logic didn’t work Sue
Arsenal finished 8th and Gibbers including me still showed up.
So instead of questioning me why are you not asking why our owners have watched and done nothing when we knew we needed help ?
Maybe if they had we wouldn’t be 9 points behind !
Gooners not Gibbers
Do you assume they are doing nothing? What an odd assumption
I think I’m assuming it because …..we have done nothing and now it’s too late
Rumours that we could be looking at mathys Tel .
Have to love fast though as Man Utd are looking likely his next destination.
Spuds had come to an agreement with BM but Tel said he didn’t want to become a Spud. Smart kid. Sign him up now, lol.
He’s definitely hot property with villa and Chelsea also interested.
But if Garnacho goes to Chelsea then Tel looks likely to man Utd .
His stats are t exactly breathtaking but not sure how many minutes ,starts he’s had for Bayern,looks a baller though .
Thanks Jax, I don’t like panic buying. I want a worldclass striker and I’m will wait to get him 🙂
Of course it’s a PR stunt. It’s not the first time the club has done it, and it won’t be the last.
Work it out, they put a £65 million bid in at the same time as Duran was being widely tipped to be going to Al Nassr. Something which has now been confirmed.
Knowing this the club felt safe to put there bid in knowing that the odds of Villa letting go of two strikers in the same window was very unlikely.
Come on people, if we we’re really interested in Watkins, the bid would have gone in early in January. Not the last week of the month.
As I said earlier this is nothing new. They used to do it in the Wenger era, and nothing has changer regarding them doing the self same thing again.
Say what you like, the managers constant ignoring of the glaringly obvious for three seasons now is hurting the team.
But don’t worry, we might finish second for the third season in a row if we’re lucky. Do we get a trophy for that?. 🙄🤦♂️
I don’t think Arsenal would have been in for anybody had Jesus not suffered such a long term injury, Derek
And SueP,
That just about sums up this manager as far as a striker goes.
Jesus had to get injured for Arteta to finally see what a lot of fans have seen for three seasons.
Injury or no injury to Jesus, the need for a striker has always been there and still is.
The clock is ticking🧨
That’s why I can’t see us not getting at least a body in because I think there will be a backlash
It would be surrending the title and CL
I think he only came onto the market because of Duran’s move we must have thought they might rather keep Duran if they get a bid for Watkins also Watkins people put it out there that he’d be interested So it was either wait til the summer and go for our top targets Isak or then Sesko or else make do with a third or fourth choice option in WatkinsI also think Ayto is failing his audition
Another open mind, thank you. What would happen to Watkins’ value if AV decided to keep the younger, more valuable (now that we know), and less wage costly Duran? Arsenal’s offer of £45 (assuming what I read was accurate) wouldn’t have been such a PR stunt, smokescreen, etc. would it? My point is we shouldn’t judge a transfer window by its cover any more than we should a book especially based on varying reports and spun theories.
Even if you keep Duran you know Villa won’t value Watkins at 40
Solankie went for 60
Eddie went for 30
What I read was £45m but regardless, he would be excess to requirements and be valued much less than otherwise would be the case especially on high wages (for AV). We cut a great deal on Eddie imo but who’s to say it couldn’t be done on Watkins as well especially if that is the only way we really wanted him (i.e. at bargain rate). Should we have paid £60 for him the way AlNassr did for Duran? My overriding point in this whole thing is that we really don’t know all of the facts of what went on with this Watkins situation as well as the rest of the transfer window to cast allegations of nefarious intent on the part of Arsenal.
I wonder if Osimhen is on the move from Galatasaray as they’ve now signed Morata from AC Milan.
It certainly seems possible if we can give Napoli a better deal so that they agree to terminate their loan to Galatasaray. Though I’d be leary of hurting our available summer funds with anything but a loan deal (making Neto permanent in ST).
I think we can get another loan just not domestic
It was a genuine bid. They got wind of Villa’s financial situation, and bid for Watkins.
For those saying it was a PR stunt because of the bid only being around 45 million, clearly these fans do not understand the absolute basics of negotiating. What fool goes in huge with their first bid? Especially given the fact Villa needed to sell.
We were unfortunate the Boniface to Saudi deal fell through, with then Al-Nassr having to move quickly for Duran, which meant Villa couldn’t even consider selling Watkins. Not much we can do with them massively paying over the odds for a back-up striker.
All that said, if we don’t get at least one forward in before the window closes, then the board have massively let down Arteta. Not sure what they’ll expect from him and the team with so many injuries, and limited options upfront?
That’s what we are saying
If Arsenal tomorrow offer 65 million then that’s a serious bid
But if they offer 46 it’s a PR move
I get your point with negotiating but you don’t start 20 million short of a valuation dude lol
And some Gooners are old enough to say we seen this before
We once offered Bolton 6 million for Cahill and chairman and manager said they were insulted that they told Arsenal valuation and we were not even close
Go read 2010 – Higuin and Suarez and guess what striker we got that summer
Why on earth would you bid high with your first bid? And it would make even less sense if said club has financial troubles, and needs to sell.
It would only make sense to bid high if other clubs were bidding at the same time.
We have a history of doing that for sure, but that was under the useless Ivan, and we know for a fact that Wenger played a major role in that process, and more often than not, he would under value players. We know this from his own comments on this topic.
You don’t bid for their asking price I get that
but you don’t with a week of the window left knowing this month will be inflated start 20 million short of their valuation lol
10 maybe ?
Would you agree then that if they don’t make another offer over say 50 they were never truly interested?
I wouldn’t agree to that, because clearly there’s absolutely no way Villa could sell Watkins now, even if they wanted to. They would have zero strikers!
So if we can see that as fans, you can bet the board can see that. Would be an absolute waste of time. Even if you bid 100 million, Villa cannot sell.
So you think everyone is wrong but you don’t think we will sign him ?
I didn’t say Villa had to accept im saying that if Arsenal are genuine with their interest they go in again ?
You said our opening bid was a negotiation tactic , us just starting low
Hopefully, something will materialize that will not be too costly and help us at least maintain top4 and even go further in the UCL. Praying for an effective return from Saka as it could be massively important at the tail end of this season.
Top 4 is safe mate
I expect that will be true as well but nothing is assured.
That February swoon may be just around the corner 🤦♂️
Lucy78,
Your missing the point, people that believe that the offer was just a stunt, never thought that Villa would except any offer Arsenal made. As I believe that Arsenal wouldn’t have offered enough to tempt Villa anyway.
Arsenal have done this before, they’re doing it now. And unfortunately, your not the first fan to be sucked in by it, and sadly you won’t be the last either.🙄🤦♂️
I have never been sucked into it. Arsenal got wind that Villa needed to sell one of their strikers, but Al-Nassr offered more, case closed. Pretty easy to understand.
Like Dan, you’re referring to the PR stunts under the Wenger and Ivan years.
No it’s not
If you have two cars and your selling both for 10-000
If one person offers you 9-000
And I offer you 3-000 who wants the car ?
Your analogy falls apart straight off the bat because you’ve bizarrely valued Watkins and Duran at the same price?
One is a seasoned quality striker, with a large sample size as evidence, the other is an exciting prospect with a very small sample size to go on.
Lucy78,
I still maintain that Arsenal put in an offer they new would be rejected, backed by their knowledge that Villa were going to sell Duran.
Yes it did happen under Wenger, but if you think that it’s not happening now, then your sadly mistaken.
And the proof of this will be seen on Monday, when a certain Mr Watkins remains a Villa player. If I’m wrong I’ll hold my hands up, But I won’t need to.
We’ll either get a last minute panic buy, or we’ll have to wait for the next window. And if that’s the case, then we’re in for another trophy less season.
But of course it’s not about the trophy’s is it. It’s all about the phases. 🙄🤦♂️
So you know the exact timing of both bids? Please share!
People are just trying to drum up distrust for the club/owners with nothing their preconceptions and biases.
There are sensible reasons why Arsenal did not go in with a high bid for Watkins.
Some of the comments and arguments do not make sense. Why would the club refuse to buy a striker if one could be obtained at a reasonable fee?
Some seem to be arguing that the club should just pay whatever the other club states as the asking price. Equally silly is the suggestion that Arteta simply doesn’t want a striker.
I just think Derek and Dan should apply for the job of signing and selling players at The Arsenal, as they seem to know a lot more than the club does.
Nah I be terrible Ken
I be out of my depth
I get to end of month and I wouldn’t have signed anyone even though we clearly need a striker …
I sit there and wait for us to be out of the cups and title race
Oh wait lol
Ken1945,
Your right me and Dan seem to know more than the club does, although we all know we don’t.
But what me and Dan do agree on is the fact that we need a striker and have done for three seasons.
And we then have to sit and watch this club go the whole of January and now into February with still no sign of a striker.
And as usual with this club, if they do any activity it will be on the last day, and the usual trolley dash for maybe another one of Chelsea’s cast offs.
The likes of City go about there business early in the month, and don’t seem to have any problem getting there targets.
But for some reason, our team just drag it on right to the end of the window.
The clock is ticking people 🧨
I haven’t had any hopes of getting a quality player this January because it’s very difficult to get transfers due to teams not wanting to do business mid season
Let’s just say that this is genuine for the sake of argument.
I’m off 2 minds: 1. He’s 29 year’s old (which is fine for a season or 2), but spending a lot of money isn’t the wisest of options. And this should have been done in Summer anyway
2. If he signed, he would help us this season quite a bit as he would be an upgrade on Havertz and Jesus in my opinion
Anyway, I don’t believe MA wanted a top striker in Summer or winter anyway. I think he thought he could convert Havertz into a top scorer lol
Funny how city seem to be able to get their job done, with 3 good signings. Our recruitment needs a new head plus a new team, they are simply not delivering
And PSG …..And Juventus …..and Bayern …and Leverkusen ….and clubs in S Arabia z etc
AFTV Transfer Daily –
Robbie just said
‘ I think the Watkins deal might be dead now’
It was never conceived lol
How would peeps feel about Vlahovic ?
Could be a compromise
Wouldn’t cost too much because of contract
Or Forest’s Wood?
Too late as we are deep in the window
He had a hat trick against Brighton today. Forest beat them 7-0. Our goal differential advantage over them is decreasing rapidly. 😒
A must must win tomorrow 😬
I wood think so.
I was joking about Woods. He and Forest as a whole obliterated Brighton
SueP,
I can’t see the Wood for the trees. 🤣😂👍
Derek,
As soon as I posted that comment….
SueP,
Your making it to easy.😉👍
Id happily take Mateta
Said this at the Olympics
I like him
Any striker is better than what we have as Kai is a 10 masquerading as one and not the faulty of his
SA Gunner,
Every person who posts on here is a better striker that Havertz to be fare. 😂🤣👍
From a cost perspective, perhaps; however,
Previously he and his agents wouldn’t even communicate with us when Juventus came calling. That was their choice. The tables have now turned.
There are few players who can upgrade Haverzt this window but if we are looking for back up to him, there are many. At this stage I don’t know what is Arsenal’s strategy if they have one at all.
In terms of being a goal scorer there are lots of options that are an upgrade on Havertz
Definitely. And if Haverzt is not scoring goals, what’s the purpose of him playing a striker role week in week out. I don’t think we can continue the weak narrative of saying he provides something else.
I really hope that this Watkins £60 million+ rumour is just gossip. Paying that much money for a 30 year old player will absolutely piss me off.
I pray it does not materialise.. 🙏🤞
Arsenal needed an a goal scoring player even before Jesus & Saka were injured if they were ever serious to compete in PL & CL. So if they wanted to sign one they would have done that in the first week of Jan not bid for an impossible target in the last week.
Correction above, Jesus has been one long term injury, with below average numbers, and now out forever.
Got news for you people, AFC doing AFC type of business.
We are going to roll the dice with Kai and ?, run our Stars into the ground, and overplay the kids.
Next…..
Guess who just scored his first hat trick in the Ligue 1? Thats right, our very own Mika Biereth who we sold for peanuts in the summer.
Strange how we gave Nkeatiah years and years to impress but Biereth wasnt given a sniff despite impressing last season.
He is certainly doing better there than Folarin Balogun
Should have done the Bid before our match with Aston Villa.Could have gotten us 3 points. it is what Mourinho does well
Regardless, following Liverpool’s win, I think we should forget Watkins and simply stick with the” internal solutions” for the remainder of the season. The horse is bolting and now the title is in their hands while the remaining contenders scramble to win points while hoping Liverpool slips up. It’s been their perfect season so far, hasn’t it? Minimal injuries, an Indian Summer for their aging stars, a squad just good enough to keep getting over the line. It won’t happen to them again. As for Arsenal, it would be an unnecessary gamble to go for Watkins or any other “shopping trolley” compromise. Put it down to errors of judgement last summer, either laziness or sloppy thinking and wait for the next window of opportunity. For us fans, the waiting and hoping goes on.
👍. Agreewith your post and the only signing should be the right one and not a compromise.
Watkins limped off as Villa were well beaten by Wolves. I think we can assume that’s dead now. Donyell Malen came on, another good player who knows the club and would have happily returned but we let him go there.
Plays into our hands
Wait for the we were going to make a second bid but ….oh he’s injured
Arsenal’s front office is a clownshow
Well, many claim Declan Rice isn’t worth 60 million pounds let alone 100+. ( Established England international at 25 )
Yeah. Though he isn’t a striker / attacker like the one Arsenal is going for but I would say if that is the case . . .
Ollie Watkins isn’t worth more than 60 million at 29 years of age.
Since Harvertz isn’t worth 40 million pounds.
Arsenal is overpricing, here.
According to Arsenal fans logic.
That being written.
I feel Watkins is a great player and my top three premier league player for last season . . .
But there is nothing preventing him from getting injured in his very first training session with us . . .
There is no guarantee he would bring us 60 plus goals a season . . .
No guarantee he will fit into the system . . .
But from amongst the contributors here and fans ( both real ones and impostors ) worldwide:
there are certainly those – lots of them, actually – who will at the slightest twist claim Arsenal overpaid.
Here they go.
So so and so club brought so and so player from their academy and this other one for five million pounds banging goals left, right, and center.
What a waste of money.
Arteta Out.
“60plus goals”?
That’s Dixie Dean level