Arsenal keeping tabs on Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins, according to GoonerNews and London World reporter Chris Wheatley.

Speaking on his weekly show for Shots!TV, Wheatley claimed that both Brentford star Ivan Toney and Watkins are on the Gunners’ radar:

“Arsenal like Ivan Toney but they also like lots of other forwards. I think Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa is another one of those players, so they do like him [Toney] but, at the moment, that’s as far as it goes… £65m is a lot of money, Arsenal have paid £100m for Declan Rice (and spent over £200m on three new players in the summer).”

Watkins has been in great form for Villa so far this campaign, scoring 9 goals and providing 5 assists in 15 appearances.

As Wheatley mentions, the main issue with the Gunners’ signing either Watkins or Toney in January is the transfer fee required to purchase them.

Arsenal have Financial Fair Play concerns

The Gunners were effectively forced into signing David Raya on an initial loan deal back in the summer, as they weren’t able to pay the full £30m upfront due to fears they could break FFP regulations.

They have instead paid a £3m loan fee, with an option to buy for £27m at the end of the season. It’s, therefore, difficult to see how they could afford either Watkins or Toney without other players being sold first.

The Gunners could do with another No.9

With Gabriel Jesus having been sidelined with yet another injury, it does raise concerns about the club’s depth up front. Eddie Nketiah has not really had the desired impact when deputising for the Brazilian this season, having scored just twice in 13 appearances.

For that reason, there may well be louder and louder calls from fans to sign a striker the closer we get to the next transfer window.