“Guilt tripping” – Mikel Arteta’s former Arsenal colleague applauds Villa’s handling of Watkins deal | OneFootball

The Ollie Watkins deal is dead in the water and the sooner that everyone moves on the better.

Of course the disappointment at missing out on another target will rankle, particularly when you consider Watkins’ well-known support of our great club, however, it’s not meant to be.

Mikel Arteta and the board can’t be blamed for Aston Villa’s failure to sell their talisman and, in fact, it speaks well of Arsenal that they are working hard right up until the deadline in order to strengthen the squad for the final push.

Had Villa not sold Jhon Duran to Al Nassr earlier in the week, there’s an outside chance that Watkins could’ve been the striker to make way in order for the Midlanders to remain on the right side of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.

Former Gunners ace and team-mate of Arteta’s, Kieran Gibbs has actually praised Villa for their actions, something that’s bound to get the blood boiling in N5.

“It’s a bit disappointing that they (Arsenal) didn’t try and go for this a bit earlier, especially with Jhon Duran leaving,” Gibbs told ESPN FC.

“I also like the bit of guilt tripping Ollie Watkins knowing full well that Arsenal is a dream move for him. We’ve known that over the last few years.”

Clearly, Gibbs is paid to make the odd controversial comment, but it’s more than a bit lame for him to give such an opinion against one of his old clubs.

In any event, it’s time for the Watkins story to be put to bed now.

Move along, nothing to see here…