Latest Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive as the background to Arsenal's interest in England forward Watkins is made clear

With Jhon Duran having now been sold to Al Nassr, it would almost certainly take a huge offer to tempt Villa to sell Watkins. Indeed, Unai Emery insisted prior to the 2-0 loss to Wolves that the player had told him he wanted to stay.

Ollie Watkins is ‘open’ to joining Arsenal before the transfer deadline if Aston Villa back down and agree a deal with the Gunners. The future of England striker Watkins looks set to be one of the biggest talking points in the final few days of the transfer window after he was the subject of a big-money offer from Arsenal.