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Ollie Watkins remains on Arsenal's radar in their striker search, but the club are more likely to pursue alternative options this summer.
After Gabriel Jesus tore his ACL at the start of the year, many expected the Gunners, who still harboured aspirations of winning the Premier League title, to embark on an aggressive winter window to best place themselves for the second half of the season.
A new striker to mitigate Jesus' absence was regarded as a priority in the eyes of Gooners, and the club did explore moves for the likes of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, and Watkins. Ultimately, though, the window ended without a single arrival. Arsenal's inability to act undoubtedly contributed to another trophy-less season and Arteta's men still have work to do to secure a top-five finish.
Now, there's nowhere to hide. A new striker will be signed this summer, but Arsenal are hesitant to move for the Premier League proven Watkins in favour of more exotic alternatives.
Why Arsenal prefer alternative options to Ollie Watkins in striker search
According to The Athletic, Arsenal have concerns over Watkins' age and the likely fee Aston Villa will demand. The Villans were aiming to get the striker off their books in the winter, but the Gunners weren't willing to match their asking price.
It's believed Arsenal would have to pay as much as £40m for a forward who turns 30 in December. While the club are in a win-now mode, they're not willing to splurge such a sum.
Watkins, an Arsenal supporter, has had another excellent season for the Champions League-hunting Villa, scoring 16 Premier League goals in 36 games. The striker, however, wasn't particularly pleased with Unai Emery's decision to leave him on the bench of both legs of their quarter-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. Watkins, who has since become Villa's all-time leading Premier League goalscorer, later admitted he was "fuming".
The 29-year-old is arguably the safest option among Arsenal's reported striker targets, but Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres are currently regarded as the club's two leading options. The raw Sesko has the potential to blossom into something majestic, but he's not quite there yet, while Gyokeres has scored relentlessly... in Portugal.
There are pros and cons to both players, but given that we've seen Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino impress up top for Mikel Arteta, it's hard to imagine that neither of the aforementioned sharpshooters will thrive as well.