One England international star has now opened up about the boost that getting the better of Arsenal ace William Saliba gave him.
Arsenal came unstuck against Aston Villa twice this season.
First, in December, the Gunners were beaten 1-0 at Villa Park. Then, in April, the Midlands outfit came to the Emirates Stadium and struck a fatal blow to Mikel Arteta’s side’s Premier League title hopes with a 2-0 triumph in North London.
On that occasion, Ollie Watkins found the back of the net in the 87th minute to set the seal on the win for the visitors.
All in all, the 28-year-old had a brilliant campaign. Watkins scored 27 goals and chipped in with 13 assists in 53 appearances, across all competitions. The striker deserves his place in the England squad for this summer’s EUROs tournament off the back of his prolific domestic form.
Ollie Watkins recalls besting Arsenal star William Saliba
Watkins is thought to be an Arsenal fan, but he has certainly enjoyed playing against the club in the past. Arteta has also noticed his quality. The Gunners have been credited with an interest in signing Watkins in the past.
Watkins has now opened up about the boost that scoring against the Gunners, and getting the better of William Saliba in particular, has given him.
Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, the 12-cap England star said: “I scored against Arsenal last year, there was a moment where I was one-on-one with Saliba and I did a step over and scored and I did a celebration like ‘I’m here’, that’s when the belief kicked in and felt confident.”
Very few players have been able to beat Saliba in one-on-one situations, and almost none have done so as spectacularly as Watkins did in this instance. It is unsurprising therefore that it gave the forward a boost to his confidence.
Ollie Watkins could face William Saliba again at the EUROs
England supporters will be hoping that he can carry that confidence, and his club form, into the EUROs, where he will feature for the Three Lions alongside Arsenal stars Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Aaron Ramsdale. Meanwhile, Saliba will be at the tournament with France.
Watkins would be an exciting signing for Arsenal to get over the line this summer. However, Aston Villa will be extremely reluctant to let him leave, and in any case it would seem that the Gunners have opted to focus on alternative targets.