Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins scored in a 2-0 win over Arsenal last month (Picture: Getty)
Ollie Watkins has revealed details of a secret chat with Declan Rice after Arsenal were urged to complete a transfer for the Aston Villa striker.
Arsenal are seeking a new forward and Watkins has been in fantastic form for Villa this season, producing 19 goals and 12 assists across 34 Premier League matches.
Theo Walcott recently told his old club Arsenal to sign Watkins in the upcoming transfer window at the end of the season, comparing him to Thierry Henry.
That came after Mikael Silvestre said he would prefer Arsenal to bring in Watkins instead of Brentford star Ivan Toney, who was their top target in January.
Watkins, who earned praise from Arsenal legend Henry in March, has now given the low down on secret talks he recently had with Gunners midfielder Rice.
The pair didn’t discuss Watkins moving to Arsenal but instead Villa’s chances of Europa Conference League glory after Rice won the trophy at West Ham last term.
Ahead of Villa’s Europa Conference League semi-final clash against Olympiacos, Watkins told TNT Sports: ‘I spoke to Dec (Declan Rice) at England.
England team-mates Declan Rice and Ollie Watkins are good friends (Picture: Getty)
‘[He was] confident that we’re going to win it. We’re confident ourselves but you never know what’s going to happen.
‘You never know with these teams. Lille put us under a lot of pressure and it’s going to be difficult but I think we have got the squad to do it.’
Watkins also spoke of his love for one of Arsenal’s biggest heroes as the 28-year-old Englishman added: ‘My idol was Thierry Henry.
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‘I always felt when he cut inside from the left and bending it in, that was always… I scored one against Luton! But Henry did it frequently.
‘I’m not on that level yet. But he’s someone I wanted to be like. I have my own style of how I play, but growing up he was the main man.
‘I personally think he is the best player to play in the Premier League. He could do it all and he was untouchable, really.’
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