Following Aston Villa’s superb 2-0 win at Arsenal on Sunday, Ollie Watkins is now just one goal away from setting a new club record as his fantastic season continues.
The 28-year-old has been integral to our progress this season, with his 26 goals and 10 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions firing us toward a top-four finish in the Premier League, as well as the quarter-finals stage of the Europa Conference League.
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The job isn’t finished yet as we head into the decisive final run-in of the campaign, and so it’s hoped that the England international is far from done in terms of his goalscoring exploits this year.
Nevertheless, with his goal at the Emirates on Sunday, Watkins now has 19 league goals this season, which moved him level with Christian Benteke as the Villa player with the most goals scored in a single league campaign.
It was a sublime finish too from the Villa frontman, as he showed great strength, speed and poise to race clear, fend off the challenge and produce a wonderful dinked effort that nestled into the back of the net before he raced off to celebrate with the travelling Villa fans.
There’s no underplaying Unai Emery and his coaching staff’s role in this development and improvement from Watkins, as he has come on leaps and bounds under the Spaniard’s tutelage, and has become one of the most prolific strikers in the Premier League as a result.
Watkins has spoken previously about the advice given to him in terms of his positioning on the pitch and how he’s now smarter with his movement and the runs he makes to not only reserve energy but be more impactful, and coupled with his own relentless work ethic to improve his finishing, it’s all coming together this season as he fires Villa forward.
He’s also shown that there are different ways that he can now be a match winner, as we saw his aerial prowess against Brentford, while time and time again we’ve seen defenders unable to cope with him when he’s racing in behind or down the channels.
The Villa ace was so unlucky not to break the deadlock in the first half in north London as he saw his effort hit the inside of the post and spin out the opposite side for a goal kick, but again, the strength, poise and athleticism that he showed to create the opening is all part of the improvement he’s made.
It’s been a joy to watch Watkins take his game to the next level under Emery, and simultaneously silence his detractors. While he’s on the verge of club history, he also has his eye on the Premier League Golden Boot as well as a spot in the England squad for the European Championships this summer.
First and foremost though, his goals will be fundamental for Villa in finishing this season off in style as we hopefully go on to secure fourth spot as well as some silverware.
Ollie Watkins goallll…#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/J3R9LrAmzv
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) April 14, 2024
