Why Arsenal should plot a summer swoop for Brentford’s Ollie Watkins

Brentford star Ollie Watkins has told Sports Gazzette at the London Football Awards (h/t Football London) that his dream is to play for Arsenal one day.

Ollie Watkins, 24, has been one of the driving forces behind Brentford’s challenge for promotion from the Championship this season, hitting 22 goals in 36 appearances. He has also chipped in with three assists, building a strong partnership with Said Benrahma and Bryan Mbeumo in the Bees’ attack.

The 24-year-old’s exciting performances this season haven’t gone unnoticed, with West Ham interested in securing his services in the summer. (h/t Football London)

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta was only able to bring in Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares on short-term deals from Flamengo and Southampton respectively in the January market, having arrived in North London midway through December. The Spaniard is set to undergo his first summer transfer window as Arsenal boss.

The Gunners have exciting attacking players but barring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, none of them has scored consistently scored goals this season. Aubameyang is Arsenal’s top scorer this season, with 20 goals across competitions. However, the Gabonese forward will have just one year left on his current deal when the season ends.

Aubameyang’s strike partner, Alexandre Lacazette, has struggled for form and had gone on a long goal drought before finally scoring in the 4-0 victory against Newcastle United last month. Youngster Eddie Nketiah has impressed since returning from his loan spell at Leeds United in January, while Gabriel Martinelli continues to enjoy his debut campaign at the Emirates Stadium.

However, the north London side do need more prolific goalscorers in their ranks if they are to compete for trophies next season. Having said that, Arsenal must plot a summer swoop for Brentford forward Ollie Watkins.

Watkins has netted 42 goals in 141 outings for Brentford this season, stepping up after Neal Maupay was sold by Brentford before the start of the season. He picked up the EFL Player of the Year award for his exploits at Griffin Park earlier this week.

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The Englishman can play anywhere across the front-line but has excelled in the number nine role under Thomas Frank this season. Watkins has a decent amount of experience in Championship football and would add some much-needed depth to Arsenal’s attack.

Verdict

Watkins is certainly the kind of player Arteta should be targeting to bolster his attack in the summer, regardless of whether Brentford make it to the top tier or not.