Ollie Watkins dunked on Arsenal’s Premier League title chances on Sunday.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa rocked up to the Emirates and secured a deserved 2-0 win to complete the double over the London club.
That’s 19 Premier League goals for boyhood Arsenal fan Watkins and the Gunners could only dream of a player like that.
Yes, Arsenal have proven for the past two seasons that they spread the goals throughout their team. From Martin Odegaard to Bukayo Saka.
But whenever Mikel Arteta’s side drops points, then talk automatically turns to the team needing that proven goalscorer to get over that title line.
Theo Walcott has suggested Watkins, but Michael Owen was also keen to put two other strikers on the table for Arsenal to sign in the summer.
One of them has been the well-documented name of Ivan Toney, but he also put forward Alexander Isak’s name amid his form at Newcastle United, as he told Premier League Productions (15/04/24 at 11:20 pm).
Over the weekend, Isak netted a brace and downed Tottenham 4-0, with Alan Shearer calling him a ‘very clever’ finisher and a ‘really talented’ player.
And Owen feels the Swedish star is one of three names to have caught Arteta’s attention ahead of the summer transfer window re-opening.
Alexander Isak at Arsenal
“He (Watkins) could be the type to go into that Arsenal team, whether you could buy him,” said Owen.
“There are a lot of players in the Premier League, at the moment, that probably would be an upgrade on what they have, at the moment.
“You are looking at Isak up at Newcastle. Maybe Ivan Toney at Brentford. And you are looking at Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa. All of those three players, I am sure, are taking the attention of Mikel Arteta.”
Arsenal in the summer transfer market
You wonder where Arsenal can go if they don’t win the title this season because there will be huge, huge pressure on the team.
Jurgen Klopp would have left Liverpool and Arsenal would be seen as the team to stop Manchester City next season.
But if they couldn’t do it last season and struggle again now, then they need more from the transfer market to get them over the line.
That’s probably where the striker talk comes into the question, but just like Declan Rice, it’s not going to be easy buying that player and it’s going to cost a lot of money.